


The Masquerade (Ball)

by emptyspwce



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha loves each other, Abusive Parent, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Has Issues, Fluff, Funny, I'm Sorry, Lee Felix (Stray Kids) is a Sweetheart, M/M, Prince Lee Minho | Lee Know, Thief Han Jisung, but they will be fine, danceracha is family, hyunjin is a bad bitch, i hope this works, i think... angst, lee minho needs a hug, vocalracha is precious
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25851484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emptyspwce/pseuds/emptyspwce
Summary: Minho's coronation was getting closer, and so was his birthday. His father wouldn't let him rule the kingdom without anyone by his side, but nobody expected that the oldest prince of the family would fall in love, much less with the same person who tried to steal from the event he didn't even want in the first place: Han jisung.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 60
Kudos: 111





	1. Chapter I: a what now?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. Well, I don't even know what to say, really.  
> I had this idea while cooking, and it shouldn't take long. I think.  
> For starters, I should point out english is not my first language, so I apologise in advance if there's any mistakes or typos in this work. You can send it to me on tumblr (@godsminho) and I will correct it as soon as I can. As you may know this is all purely ficcional, so I would like to say before beginning that their friendship should be above all ships and in no ways this is meant to harm the boys.  
> Also, I would like to say this is my second fanction ever published so... I hope you all like it. Good reading, everyone.

“Father, this is _utterly_ absurd. A masquerade won’t be needed for such an occasion.” Minho explained at the table, putting down his silverware rather quickly. He was aware not to make any sounds regarding his anger on the subject as if a bomb would explode the room if he did so. It was never a good idea to get on his father’s nerves, especially in the middle of dinner, and he was sure that would happen if he showed how mad he was with that stupid decision.

As a prince, his duty was always exhausting but usually not surprising. Until now.

“Son, this is not up for debate,” The king, Lee Hyuntae, explained not stopping from eating his meal in complete peace. “neither is your choice to make.”

6 words never bothered the prince that much before. He felt his stomach twist at this reaction, but he reminded to recompose himself and took a deep breath. It would be inappropriate to lose his mind during a meal, much less with his father of all people.

Being the son of a King was not always lovely. Ever since little, Minho knew the responsibility he held to his family and kingdom, and he assured himself he wouldn't disappoint either of them; He would study, fight, train, and do whatever it took to prove himself worthy and guarantee his position of the next great leader of the Korean Nation. However, although he was the oldest between his brothers, it was clear as day his opinion did not matter that much to his father when it came to his own life.

“It’s _my_ birthday and I would like to celebrate it with my brothers if you would let me.” He tried to reason, picking up his fork and knife again, tightening his grip as he could feel his blood boiling inside by the second. To be honest, he was not even looking at his plate since his full attention and narrowed eyes were directed to the king himself.

His younger brother, who was sitting right beside him, noticed how tense he was and put his hand on his thigh. _Be careful,_ Hyunjin tried to imply with his action.

Of course, it took little effort to annoy his majesty. “We are doing a masquerade ball and end of the story.” He demanded, voice deepened, and eyebrows knitted.

“Pumpkin, this is the best choice for you.” His mother, Queen Yeji, eyed her husband before trying to reason with her son, putting on a weak smile. “You are turning old enough to rule the kingdom now, my love. You need a partner to help you in such an important position, and a ball could help us with that matter.” Her tone was calming and soothing, seeing as she was the only one relaxed in the room.

He realized Hyunjin's grip on his leg and breathed in calmly before speaking.

“I do understand your point of view, mother.” He let out, looking at her. He was tired of this conversation already. “But a masquerade ball? On my birthday? We had a party not too long ago.”

_Hyunjin._

Even so, it was such a small matter, he knew Hyunjin hated when he fought with their parents.

He glanced at his brother, to make sure he was fine, and he saw his face was completely blank while staring at his plate. He noticed he was biting his bottom lip and barely touching on his food, things he only did when he was feeling worried. He knew as good as his dongsaeng was in hiding his true feelings, small actions like this meant he was really bothered by the situation.

He wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay, like many times before, but he couldn’t do it next to his father. 

“We did, but this time we have other purposes besides having a little bit of fun.” His father stated, catching his son’s attention again, “Stop trying to make us give up on this idea, Minho. End of discussion.”

He breathed out, trying to calm himself down for his brother’s sake, but it was almost impossible to stop his soothing, small, voice coming out almost as a rhythmless lullaby.

“But, father, what about the people? We are spending their money in-”

“ **Enough**!” The King threw his silverware hardly on the table, surprising everyone with its loud noise. Minho tried to refrain his body from shivering and closed his eyes a little, immediately opening them after realizing his reflexes got the best of him. “This is not up for discussion. If you are going to be a king, you have to start acting like one, and that means you have to _respect_ my decisions.”

He gulped down, feeling defeated. “Yes, father. I’m sorry.”

As silence took more place in the concreted room, Minho could feel it was getting harder to breathe. He felt his lungs burning every time he exhaled, but seeing as it wasn’t an unknown feeling, he managed to suppress his pain and refrain smalls tears from falling. Dinner wasn’t always like this, but whenever it was, he never missed to feel sorry for his brothers and his mom. He knew he was usually the one who caused problems, but how couldn’t he? When it came to his life, he had no control over it and that was just _too much._

At least, these days, Felix was usually practicing archery until late at night. This calmed Minho’s mind a little, seeing as the youngest of his brothers missed all fights and discussions they had been having lately.

Speaking of the little devil, it wasn’t long until the youngest broke the silence of the room, opening the heavy door with giggles and laughter. He was talking to his favorite guard, Choi Soobin, when he came in still using his chest guard, holding his bow along with a quiver in his back, and his presence seemed to make the air a little fresher again. It was impossible not to smile looking at him, he had that effect on people since forever.

“Mom! Dad! I think I’m finally learning how to use it correctly!” He laughed happily, holding his bow high as if it was the most precious thing in the world to him.

“I’m _so_ proud!” Minho was the first one to speak up, putting a smile on his face towards his little brother. He wasn’t in the best of the moods, but he would do anything just to see him cheerful like that.

“I am, too.” Queen Yeji followed right after, grinning as much as her youngest son. “Now, go shower honey, you still have to eat.” She clapped her hands and rushed him pointing to the same door as if she could smell him from there.

“I’m happy for you, brother,” Hyunjin stated, lifting the corner of his mouth a little.

His father celebrated his son too before he had the chance to leave. As he was going out of the room filled with compliments, Minho found the courage to speak up. “Mother, I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to be feeling well. I’m sure the food is lovely, but I would like to excuse myself and go with my brother to my chambers.” He explained, exhaling what he wanted to be his frustration, before continuing, “I assume we will be having meetings regarding today’s topic, right? I want to be in the best shape I can.”

The King smirked without saying anything, and the Queen only agreed and let him go his way.

Hyunjin dropped his fork before Minho could get up, excusing himself, too. It was noticeable how all his features screamed how tired he actually was, so Yeji decided to let him go, too.

After closing the door to the great hall, all three boys directed themselves towards the spiral staircase on the end of the long hallway in silence. Felix’s smile stamped on his face, studying the bow he had used for hours, made Minho’s senses start to calm down with each step he took. He then checked Hyunjin, and his previous discomfort seemed long gone as he started to talk to Felix about his training, grinning ear to ear at his brother’s excitement.

Even so, being two years older than Felix and one year older than Hyunjin, Minho knew how lucky he was to have them in his life. Normally, younger brothers were a pain in the ass, but Minho never once thought so. Okay, maybe he did. However, they could fight over the stupidest little things, bicker all day just because they wanted to, prank the life out of him, and he never once wasn’t grateful to have them by his side. He would threaten them with just a look, or a few words, but they all knew he was just joking.

“ _Minho_ , how do you feel?” Hyunjin asked once again, and he snapped back to reality. He didn’t even realize he had zoned out.

“Oh, I am fine.”

“Really? Even with the whole ball thing?” Hyunjin queried, clearly not buying Minho’s response.

Felix knitted his eyebrows. “A what now?”

Minho gulped down, looking at the floor. “We are doing a ball, unfortunately. Father wants me to find a partner before my coronation.”

“Well, I think that’s just stupid,” Hyunjin started, fixing the edge of his sleeve. “It’s not like you need anyone to rule the throne with you, you are excellent. And dad is still fully capable of dealing with his duties on his own.”

Felix agreed, not really liking this marriage idea either.

To be honest, Minho wasn’t a fan of it, too, but he knew as the next in line, that was his duty. He smirked, putting all his frustration in that smile, then said something completely different. “Well, Jinnie, as much as I love my own company, I see the point of it all. We can’t exactly do everything by ourselves.” He licked his lips staring at the ground while slowing down their walking, “I will be taking care of a huge kingdom, and I will have a vast list of responsibilities. I need someone to help me make grand decisions, make me sane when I’m not, and prevent me from making any mistakes that could hurt our people.” He looked back at them, who were looking deep in his eyes.

“But does it have to be a _stranger?”_ Felix knitted his eyebrows while shivering a bit duo to the chilly night. “You are basically saying you’d marry anyone for the sake of the Kingdom, Hyung. What are about _your_ happiness?”

“They are not as important as our people.” His words rolled out of his tongue easily as if he repeated the same sentence regularly. “as long as I’m doing my job, I’m sure we will all be fine.”

“ _Bullshit_.” Hyunjin’s voice came out angrier than expected, as his jaw clenched a bit. “You are my brother; I won’t let you live an unhappy life because you want to satisfy _dad_.”

“I don’t _want to satisfy dad.”_ The words were said in the most mocking tone he could ever use. He felt his blood boiling at his brother’s statement, it was _ridiculous_ to think he wanted the approval of a man he hated so much. “We do have to take care of our people, you know?”

“But why do you have to _sacrifice_ your _well being_ for that _?_ You don’t see how stupid that is, _Hyung_?”

The oldest of them was about to raise his voice when he noticed Felix’s size seemed to get smaller as his eyes pleaded for them to stop. He took a deep breath once again, closed his eyes for a minute, and then reminded himself he could not murder his brother. Much less the older between the two, who would probably be the next in line if he was arrested.

Nevertheless, he did not want that kind of weight for any of them to bear, so he just sucked his anger up and looked at him softly.

“Hyunjin, I don’t want to fight. It was enough to discuss that with him, okay?” He tried to reason with him, his tone was softer than before. “I just want to get some sleep. We should start organizing the ball’s things tomorrow, anyway.”

Hyunjin seemed to notice how his brother's eyes drifted to the smallest, and as he spotted Felix’s uneasiness he decided to drop the topic, replacing his knitted brows with a straight face. “I’m sorry, I just want what’s best for you.”

Minho nodded, lifting the corner of his lips, and Hyunjin quickly parted ways as soon as they got to the spiral staircase, mumbling a quiet good night.

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he saw him heading out, probably, to his chambers. Then, he looked back at Felix, who was still there without saying anything and hugged him as tight as he could so he wouldn’t think something was wrong. “I will be fine, sunshine.” He told him, patting his head. “Now, go take a shower, you stink. And I bet you are hungry, too.”

Felix's features turned from worry to a giggling one as he heard what his brother was saying. He laughed at his comment before nodding and saying goodbye, heading towards his bathroom.

As soon as he was out of his vision, Minho’s face instantly dropped and finally, he allowed himself to feel the frustration that was brought upon him today. When he got to his own bed after a long and hot shower, it was also his own decision to cry soundlessly before sleeping. As a prince, he hated to be one.


	2. Chapter II: The winter is almost over.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung recalls memories of his past before learning about a problem that could get in his and his family's way to survive through the winter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was rather quick, haha. Thank you for your kinds words in the last chapter, everyone, it made me really happy to see I wasn't the only one excited about an alternative universe like this one.  
> If you feel like commenting your thoughts, you can do it. It's endearing to read them, and I'd love to know what you are thinking about the story so far.  
> Once again, I feel like I should remember this is all purely fictional, and it was just a fun little idea I had out of nowhere.  
> Today, things are a bit heavy on Jisung's perspective, but I swear it will get better.  
> Have a good reading <3

Jisung was hungry _._

He wished it to be for excitement, for love, or anything else from what it really was. But, of course, he knew his body was telling him he was hungry for _food._ With each step he took, he could feel as if an angry wolf were scratching the walls of his stomach and begging for a little bite of his flesh. He could feel it was getting harder to move, as his joints ached, and his head felt slightly dizzy. He also knew that was a sign his body was about to give up right there.

No, he was _starving_.

The last time he ate properly, if he could remember correctly, was a few days ago. He had stolen a few apples and Chan managed to get a chicken this time, so Changbin took care of the liquid, which was water that tasted as old as the socks on the bottom of his drawer, but that wasn't that much of a problem. That was their fullest dinner of the week. They knew it was not perfect, but it was everything they had.

Chan and Changbin were the closest things he had to a family. After everything all of them went through, having each other was their sense own of _home_ , even though they hadn’t any. They all shared sentiments towards their past, but even coming from broken homes and miserable backgrounds, destiny managed to bring them together.

It all started when Jisung, the orphan with light hands, stole a bird Chan hunted and hid on Changbin’s safe spot, a couple of years ago. He had been hungry for a few days, so when he saw the hunter was distracted talking to the merchant, and the meat was unsupervised on the floor, he quickly managed to take it and run away as fast as he could to what he thought it was an abandoned house. Stealing was not a good thing, and he knew that. But he also knew he needed that to keep himself _alive_.

He wasn’t wrong about the abandoned house; it was indeed a rusty place, with holes in the walls and dust everywhere. He was wrong, though, assuming it would be _empty_.

As soon as he saw the ax a smaller (yet puff) guy was holding toward his direction whilst knitting his thick eyebrows, he did the only thing he could do; got on his knees and begged for his life. Okay, it may sound _ridiculous_ if you think about it _now_ that the same man, he felt threatened by, was just like a big brother to him.

Nonetheless, he remembered exactly how it felt when the corner of his eyes burned with tears pleading to come out as he saw the weapon he was holding. Even with the urge to cry being bigger than the guy’s size, he couldn’t stop his mouth from telling everything he knew about himself. He thought it could help, or whatever. Maybe he could win him over by pity or buy time to get out of there somehow.

Well, he couldn’t see what Changbin was doing while he was rambling for his life with his eyes closed, but the tiny man just looked at him tilting his head. He doesn’t know until this day how funny that scene was to him, since he wasn’t planning to hurt the younger boy in the first place, but Changbin wasn’t planning to tell him that.

And when Jisung thought things couldn’t get any better, the one guy he stole from found the place and barged in with a crossbow in hand. He was wearing a cape to cover his features, probably from the guards, but the man felt obligated to take his hood off after seeing such a scene in front of him.

“Oh, for _fuck’s_ sake,” Jisung remembered saying out loud, rolling his eyes in defeat.

If he wasn’t going to die then, surely, he was going to die now. He managed to piss off one guy with a bloody _crossbow_ and one with an ax. _Just great._

He remembered getting mentally ready to get beaten up, but instead, he was offered to share the bird.

Chan didn’t know why he had done that. Immediately after seeing that his thief was a boy from _his age,_ struggling just like him, he felt his heartache. He could see he was a little bit older than both, and after analyzing the smaller’s features (clearly suffering from some minor dehydration, since he had cracked lips) he decided to offer him a portion of it as well. The bird was huge, for their luck.

After putting weapons down and cooking the meat, they ate in silence. It was not just strange, but it was also comforting in away. They didn’t know whether to trust one another, seeing as they had met five minutes ago due to stealing. And breaking in.

_Okay, maybe it wasn’t a good idea._

However, nothing stopped Jisung from eating just as quickly as if the flash was passing by. He was just _so_ hungry. It was not surprising when he choked on a piece of the food and started coughing uncontrollably, though. His reaction, rather chaotic than worryingly, broke the cricket’s sound that filled the house, with laughs from both older boys.

He was so thankful to himself for trying to steal Chan's food. It led him to his _family_ , and he couldn’t be happier about it. He smiled thinking about all the times they ran from guards, traded with merchants, and shot animals in the woods together.

He stopped daydreaming when he felt the wolf in his stomach again. He squeezed his middle hoping the discomfort would stop, seeing as he was not only hungry but thanks to the thin layers of clothing he had on, he was freezing. Walking on the empty and cold kingdom’s streets with such nerve-wracking desire to eat _something_ did not make him feel any better, to be honest. Every corner which was once filled with joy, now looked like those expensive taverns down the street nobody could afford to go; Empty.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of the weather, or because of the stupid _royalty_ and their demands _._ He hated both, anyway.

He looked around through the city, noticing a few features only typical when things were getting hard for everyone. A few lights were on and nobody was outside, not even a few animals who he usually petted in the street. Plaques of “hiring” were taken off some stores, probably because the owners didn’t have enough money to maintain their employees this time.

He sighed. Changbin would be disappointed to hear.

So, giving up on his original plan, Jisung decided it was time to go back to their spot and decide what to do about their meal. This time, he couldn’t pretend as if he wasn’t hungry so his brothers could eat more, or he would pass out.

He cursed himself for it. He _hated_ to eat a lot of the food Chan worked hard for since the older one took a lot of time to find animals in good condition and manage to get back to the house _without_ calling the guards attention. It was not forbidden to go into the woods, out of town, to hunt, but you should at least bring a certain amount to the king, as some sort of tax, now and then. However, it was clear as the ice they couldn’t share what they barely had, so Chan should avoid attention at _all_ costs.

Jisung also had this stupid idea of being useless in this type of situation, especially in winter. Of course, he could steal easily and run away from the merchants quickly, but sometimes it was harder. In this season specifically, a lot of people were not able to _get out_ of the house to buy food, so they just stocked things in summer. With no crowd, there was no way to get away without stress in any form.

But they were managing so far, and that’s what mattered.

“I’m home!” He tried to shout, having a bit of trouble closing the door properly. “Changbin-Hyung, I think the door is a little off again.” He stated right after, narrowing his eyes to the lock eagerly.

He looked around, missing any human presence. He was greeted by a meow, sound made by their loveable black cat, that joined them months ago because Jisung had begged to keep him. “Hi, Lino,” He greeted back, throwing a kiss on the air, which was successfully ignored as the tiny figure went back to sleep. “Love you too.”

With that, he heard what it seemed like to be Chan’s footsteps getting into the living room. “Kid, where have you been?” He asked with a soothing tone, coming in wearing an apron that was not in so good condition. Jisung guessed he got in time for dinner.

“I’m sorry, I was just looking around the city in hopes something had changed. Everyone seems dead, thanks to the _royals_.” He explained, faintly laughing a little after managing to finally close the wooden entry. “So…” He spoke softly, careful around the next word as if he could have touched a soft spot about today.

Chan smiled widely, throwing his hands on the air. He already knew what he was talking about. “Yes, Ji, I got a big hunt today.” Proud of the work he had done. It amused him how hardworking he always had been to bring food to their table.

Jisung smiled back, running to his arms and hugging him as tight as he could, although he still felt a little weak. “Oh, thank god, I’m starving!” He cheered, “What is it?”

“It’s a _deer!_ ” He answered in a proud tone, smile getting bigger as he continued talking. “I have no idea why he was out in the woods today, with such a cold winter, but I’m not complaining. At least, It will last for a few days.”

Jisung nodded after parting their hug, cheeks high in joy. The news could not be better.

“We should start to plant some vegetables again in the yard after winter is over,” Changbin stated, getting into the room, and lifting the corner of his thick lips to see them in such a good mood. He had bags underneath his eyes as if he were not sleeping for days, and that made Jisung’s heartache. “The last time we did that, we spent the entire summer well-fed.” He remarked, recalling a time where he remembered everyone went to sleep with their stomach full, every day.

“Did you get the job on the bakery, Hyung?” He knitted his brows, changing the conversation topic. “I remember they were hiring last week, but as I was passing by and I think they aren’t doing it anymore, or they hired someone already.” He let out, disappointed. He was not even sure how the interview with Changbin had gone.

After a few seconds of silence, the smaller sighed, looking at the floor. “Actually,” He whispered, closing his eyes. “I don’t think I did. I haven’t spoken to the owner in a few days, and since then, he only told me he would let me know if anything.” His voice broke in the middle of his sentence and it was noticeable how his eyes got watery in a matter of seconds. “I’m _so_ sorry, I swear I tried.”

Jisung knew how much they needed that, and how much Changbin wanted the job as well. His eyes immediately gone soft and he couldn’t contain himself from going to his direction and hugging him tightly. “You don’t have to be sorry, Hyung. You are doing your best.” He whispered in his ear, as he could fell his sobs getting harder. He felt his shirt getting wet as the seconds went by, but it didn’t bother him like seeing the emotional state he was in, did.

It didn’t take long for Chan to go behind them and put his arms around both, squeezing their sides in an attempt to comfort his brothers. “We can manage, Binnie. Winter is almost over.”

They stayed that way for a few minutes, as Changbin’s sobs started to slow down. “I love you all,” He said before a minor hiccup reached his lips, “but you stink and I’m not cold enough to bear with it.”

They started to laugh at his comment, stopping the hug. Jisung smelled his arm discretely as he thought he was the culprit, eyes getting bigger afterward. “Okay, I see your point.” He muttered, shaking his head in defeat. He was right. “I blame the royalty.”

Changbin snorted as he threw his body on the old couch next to them, petting Lino’s sleeping form. “ _You_ are the who won’t shower, and the royals are to blame?”

“Of course.” He raised his hand, already on his way to the bathroom, not even looking back to both of his hyung’s hysterical laughter.

After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he watched as they prepared dinner, joking around now and then. It was good to see them like this; his heartfelt as warm as the fire they just lit on the old fireplace every time they smiled at his playfulness.

They all ate in complete silence as if the food they were holding was the best one the had ever tasted. The only sounds that could be heard in that room were the hums of delight each of them made while eating, revealing Jisung wasn’t the only one who was about to pass out. They ate until they felt they were going to explode, saving leftovers that would last for a couple of days afterward and giving a bit of raw meat to Lino, that was now awaken due to the smell of fresh food.

“Wow, this was amazing,” The smaller one said, cleaning his mouth with a piece of fabric they used as a napkin. “Thank you, Hyung.”

Sharing soft good nights after cleaning everything up, all three boys decided to call it a day and went to sleep, seeing as they were tired and well-fed.

[...] 

It had been a few hours since Jisung decided to lay down, but he just _couldn't_ sleep at all. His thoughts wouldn’t leave him alone; His mind was racing like the fastest horse in town, with uncertainty about what tomorrow was holding for him laying heavy on his chest.

He knew he had no control over his future anymore. The guards could have Chan arrested for hunting without permission at any minute now, for all he knew. Or him, for that matter, - The second someone reported his actions to the crown, he was done.

Learning about Changbin’s job was also a problem lingering on his head. It was not his fault, of course, and Lord knows Jisung would _never_ get mad at him for it, but it was something to think about since they were _counting_ on that money to get them through the end of the winter. Chan’s hunts, even so being extremely helpful and most of the time deliciously cooked, were also totally unpredictable. He could get home with a huge piece of meat, like he did today, a tiny little rabbit, or in the worst-case scenario, _nothing_.

 _It is almost over,_ he repeated as a lullaby. _The spring is coming up, It will get better._

After that, he considered leaving the city with his brothers. _Oh_ , how he wanted to get away from everything, especially the King and his ridiculous requests. As he got older, he noticed how the taxes only got higher, the fairs got more unprotected every day (not that he could complain since he had to steal them for a living, but even so) and the city in general, poorer.

However, he couldn’t.

The world was so unknown to them, the chances of surviving would be lower than their heights. And that said something to him.

Then, he imagined how lucky the royal family was. Maybe, if they were part of it, their worries would be gone, and he wouldn’t have to think about anything else besides how he liked his pancakes in the morning. His hands got warmer as he imagined himself holding one of that _fancy_ cups of tea, he usually saw on the front window of a store nearby, and how good its content would taste around his tongue.

He licked his lips, almost as if could taste the liquid like it were right in front of him. He Imagined it to be something with an aroma that would make him squeeze his eyes in delight, tasting probably a little bitter as he brought it to his lips but just with the _right amount of sugar_.

He shot his eyes open when he heard a familiar sound on his door, bringing him out of the alternative reality he had just fantasized himself in. He sighed, getting up lazily and putting all his weight in the edge of the bed in defeat, recognizing Lino’s bad habits of scratching that _damn_ door when he wasn’t able to open it on his own.

_He just **had** to scratch it in the middle of my tea party. Great._

He scratched his eyes as he yawned, opening the degenerated piece of wood to find the feline figure staring right at him, sitting up afterward was asking nicely to come in.

“Get in already, Lino.” He rushed, clearly annoyed by the audacity his cat had to wake him up like this. “You are lucky I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I made my own heart break.  
> Even so it was heartbreaking to see them like this, it was interesting to show the contrast in their points of view right away.  
> So, I have made an outline about the events, and it should take a bit more than 10 chapters? I'm not sure yet, I might add a few things here and there.  
> Next chapter we will be back at Minho's perspective and It won't take long for them to meet, I promise. I might post it in a couple of days, though, since I have a test coming up and I know absolutely NOTHING about it. ha.  
> Well, have a good night everyone! <3


	3. Chapter III: I'm here for you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho is getting more stressed about this ball than he was supposed to be, as people close to him won't stop thinking about it. So, he makes what he thinks it might be the stupidiest decision of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> So, today's chapter is a "longass" one. (joking, it's only a little bit longer) I hope you enjoy.  
> One more time, I want to thank you all and your kind words. It makes me really happy to read your reactions, I can't even believe there are people actually interested on what I'm doing here.  
> I should probably mention, this chapter has implied mention of violence, so if you are not comfortable with that, you can skip the beggining of the chapter. I can catch you up in the end notes, so if you start reading from the hug the two first characters share, i'm sure you must be fine.  
> Good reading, everyone!

Daylight made its way through the open curtains and shone brightly on the room. Minho stirred slightly when he noticed the warmth of the sunlight was directed to his body with such precision, burning his soft skin after a certain amount of time. He could have sworn he had closed the piece of fabric before going to sleep, so how was it open?

“Morning, Sunshine!” A familiar voice greeted, answering the questions he hadn’t asked out loud.

Minho’s eyebrows furrowed in discomfort as his weight shifted from a side to the other, completely ignoring his presence. If it were a murderer, he would be dead by now.

“Get up, Lazy ass.” He continued, seeing Minho’s unbothered state. Sensing nothing remotely pleasant would work to wake up the king-to-be, he scoffed and quickly pulled the pillow from his head and hit him with it.

As soon as the prince’s brain cells decided to make themselves useful, he shot his eye open realizing who was the one that had woken him up in such a friendly manner. His eyes quickly searched around the room for the person he wasn’t hoping to see so soon. “Seungmin!” He called, more as a complaint than a greeting, staring at him. _“What the fuck,”_

His cousin’s smiling form smirked mischievously with the soft cushion in hands as he noticed he had gotten what he wanted. He had successfully annoyed Minho.

“Min, good to see you!” He cheered, opening his arms. “I can see you are very happy about my visit.”

“So happy. Can’t stop smiling.” He commented sarcastically, putting on the fakest smile he could. Deep down, though, he was indeed excited to see him. “ _Hey_ , use the honorifics, will you?”

He received a burst of laughter from the young one, “Sure, Minnie-Hyung. I know you are going to be king and _blah blah blah_.”

He sat upon his bed, surprised by the feeling he sensed on his back. It was like it was in _flames_ , which made Minho actually think he had slept on a bed made by Satan himself. Yesterday, the discomfort was almost insignificant, but for some reason today, his injuries made themselves present for his lack of luck.

_Did the meds wear off already? It was supposed to take longer._

He touched his shoulder, hoping he had some kind of healing power to take care of it when his brain decided to work again and reminded him Seungmin was still there. He furrowed his brows and looked up, “…Did you just _blah blah blah_ me?”

It seemed like his remarks were the only ones that made his brain cells cooperate, to be honest.

“No, I did not.” He smirked again, sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed before staring at him. “Are you okay?” Seungmin asked as soon as he noticed the pain plastered all over his cousin’s face, concern present in his voice.

Minho immediately brought his arm down, cursing himself for not being able to hold himself back. “Yes.” He answered briefly, not wanting to get much into it. “Why are you here again? And where is Jeongin?”

He did not want to sound rude, but he had to change the topic. Anything from reminding himself of the reason he was in pain in the first place, was a win.

Noticing he wasn’t going to speak, Seungmin refrained himself from commenting anything else. For now. “My brother is a poor victim to your mom’s game of chess I am afraid,” He sighed, “But please, would you like to tell me _why_ we are having a ball?”

He sighed, feeling like receiving a punch in the face. Once again, that topic didn’t seem to die not even for a second. “Father’s orders. Believe me, I’m not a fan of it as well.”

“On your _birthday_?” He furrowed his eyebrows, not asking much of a question but just openly stating his shock.

“ _Right?”_

Everything went silent as both men laughed before staring at each other. Seungmin could see from all Minho’s features how _tired_ he was, and to say the least, it broke his heart. Heavy eyes with light bags under them and bad posture never hurt so much to _look_ at. “So... do you want to talk about this?” he bit his lip while pointing to the golden mirror beside the owner’s bed, which showed the reflection of his clothed back.

He had to try.

The prince couldn’t get himself to let out any words about it, so he just shook his head, as a sign he wasn’t ready to talk. To be honest, he never was.

Frankly, he knew the younger in the room had a vague idea about what that was. He was the only person in the entire castle to know a bit about why his dorsal usually hurt, why he used so many bandages, and why he wasn’t comfortable to sleep shirtless or have any servants on his room while he was undressed.

He was grateful to him. Even though his cousin never knew all about his story, not once he brought it up in front of his brothers or _demanded_ the truth; He just respected his space. And that was what he valued the most in his life, his _privacy_.

“Okay.” Seungmin lifts the corner of his lips in an attempt to assure he wasn’t going to pass any boundaries. “But you _have_ got to take care of it, all right? You have to ask someone to clean it up once in a while, even if that person isn’t me.”

Minho nodded, biting his bottom lip while staring his silky sheets. _“Thank you.”_

“I’m here for you.”

He smiled, locking eyes with him again. “I know.”

They shared huge smiles, hugging right after. Minho felt like he was safe, sharing that warmth and comfort all over his chest.

Then, both realized what they were doing, and parted muttering a few insults. “ _Ew_ , you are gross.” “Stop touching me or I will fight you.”

Seungmin then realized he had passed too long there for someone who was only supposed to bring him to his father, so he got out of the room after giving him the message and threatening him to bathe quickly.

It didn’t take long for him to bath, change clothes, and fix his orange hair in the mirror, as it took him to mentally prepare for what he knew it would be a long day. He sighed looking at his reflection, seeing as it was naturally looking a bit tired, and he was sure he needed to get some sleep.

They both got to The King’s office speedily, exchanging nice words and good mornings to guards who were passing by and holding the door for them.

“Yes, father?” The prince queried while opening the wooden door, fixing his shirt.

“You are late.” Lee Hyuntae muttered, momently looking up from the papers he was holding.

He gulped down; eyeing Seungmin’s cold state next to him. He knew his cousin was just scared of him as he was. “I’m sorry father, it won’t happen again,” He apologized, in hopes to get on his good side today.

The King just huffed. “It better.”

Kim furrowed his eyebrows, hands tensing even though they were, respectfully, on his back. No fear in the world could beat the injection of anger he was getting as they spoke, but the prince didn’t seem to notice. “It’s my fault, your majesty. I wanted to catch up with my cousin before he had to endure such activities as dealing with-” He stopped middle sentence, Minho guessing he reminded himself he was still talking to the king. “-the ball’s preparations. It must be tiring for him.”

Another huff. “It’s his job.”

“Of Course, it is, Father.” He interfered before someone was sentenced to death. “What can I do for you?”

[…]

All morning had passed until Minho had the chance to excuse himself from all that paperwork and isolate his form from everyone, on the gardening. He preferred to stay in his room most of the time, but as the air seemed to get heavier in that _damn_ castle, the outdoors seemed to be the best place for him to think at the moment.

He took his time to inhale the sweet scent of his favorite flowers, playing with the edge of its petals as he tried to maintain himself sane till all of this was over. They weren’t in the best shape, but it was understandable due to the season they were in.

_Thank god his clothing was appropriate enough so he wouldn’t feel as cold outside._

His back didn’t hurt as much thanks to the medicine he took after lunch, so he felt a little freer to lay down and rest his body a little. Even though it was still winter, today God seemed to have conceded him permission to gaze at a clear sky without any barriers. Clouds shaped as the most _random_ things made their way through the soothing atmosphere calmly, letting his mind go through all different places as his eye followed the fluffy form.

_What would it be like if he were not royalty?_

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding just by thinking about it. Sure, he had never seen the town as it was, but he imagined it to be the most colorful place he could ever have a chance to see. Living in such a “black and white” palace, filled with pointless and breakable _junk_ , made him forget about how exciting the world could be.

Children running around compact yet gorgeous wooden houses, birds singing as if there were no tomorrow and cheerful music filled his mind and warmed his heart.

The prince smiled to himself thinking about the animals he could encounter in the woods. The last time he was there, it was solely with the purpose of training and it was long ago. As he got older, more political tasks required his full attention back at the castle, therefore he wasn’t able to leave as much. He never forgot how much he loved to ride horses when he was little, though, feeling the breeze of the wind hit his forehead and serve as a cure for any problems he might have had. That amazing sensation made him forget about everything and finally allowed himself to feel truly free.

That was when it hit in.

_He had never seen the town before._

He sat upon the moist grass, narrowing his eyes as he thought so. _Had he really never set foot in his own town?_ It couldn’t be.

He almost cracked his skull open trying to remember any piece of it, but nothing came into mind. Not even a name. A store. He remade all steps of his life, even backwards, but remembering seemed like an impossible task. Of course, when he went training in the woods, he had to pass by it, but he never paid attention to it or got the opportunity to get to _know_ his own people.

By Instinct, he got up, gazing with sparkling eyes at the rusty gate in front of him. If he had the _chance_ to get out of there _for one second, see_ for himself the result of the work he had done on his office all these nights _, wander_ around the town _…_

His foot was about to start working on his own when he felt a hand on his shoulder, bringing his attention back to reality.

_“Hyung?”_

“Yes, _Hyunjinnie_?” He smiled upon seeing his brother, internally debating what he was about to do.

_Was he about to run away?_

“I want to apologize properly.” He got straight to the point, lifting the corner of his perfect lips weakly as he did so. “You are the best big brother I could have asked for, and it was foolish of me to doubt your means. I shouldn’t have gone to my room without _assuring_ you I only wanted your well being, too.” Exhaling, he continued, “And I do. I just want to see you happy.”

He decided to let that thought go for a moment. He had to pay attention to his brother. “Thank you, Jinnie. I know that, and I understand your point of view.”

“Well,” The younger chuckled, “I am relieved to hear.”

He reached out to his little brother and put a hand on his shoulders. “I promise you I’ll try my best to choose the right partner, so I won’t be miserable as a King, _okay?_ ”

“Okay. But I have to meet _her_ first, alright? I need to make sure my brother is in good hands, or I will have to annoy the life out of you, Hyung.”

 _Her._ A Queen.

He smiled sadly when he noticed he had pointed that out, looking at the grass in distress. For some reason, his mind hadn’t processed he’d have to marry a woman so they could have an heir, seeing as his interest was only in fulfilling his duty as a king. He didn’t care about the person's gender identity, all he wanted was to take _care_ of his people. Love wasn’t something he had planned out, but he knew his sexuality _damn_ well to assure he’d only be fully happy with a man by his side.

Hyunjin hadn’t discussed that subject with him yet, but he guessed it by his look that it wasn’t what he wanted. He sighed.

“Hey,” It was his turn to put his hand on Minho’s arm, locking eyes with him, “Once you are the King you might be able to change that.”

The oldest prince nodded, so his brother pulled him into a hug.

He was sure about three things in his life. He was going to die someday, hopefully from old age; He was handsome as hell, And Hyunjin was an angel to him.

“Now, let me go. I didn’t forget yesterday you called me _stupid,”_ He teased, “I could have your head because of that, you know right?”

As the younger one wasn’t expecting that, he felt obligated to put a hand on his mouth to contain the huge giggle he felt it was making its way through his lungs. Unsuccessfully, the loud laughter echoed though the gardening as music to Minho’s ears, who also joined in making noise on the open space.

"By the way, have you seen Lix today?" He asked, noticing he hadn't talked to the youngest of them since yesterday.

"Oh, he went to the woods with guards to train archery."

He furrowed his brows, seeing as It was the fourth time in the week. "Wow, he really is trying to improve isn't he?"

Hyunjin chuckled. "I know, right? Ever since that time he got lost, he has been determined to get better."

He nodded, reminding that awful day. Guards came running in the doors, letting the people of the castle know they had been attacked by bears and the youngest prince was missing.

It was one of the worst days of his life.

He remembered screaming about their incompetence to every family member possible, even to his plants. He had already set up a rescuing team, when Felix came back through the door, hours later, intact as stone. He remembered hugging him so tightly his little brother started coughing, missing some air. But he was okay, at the end of the day.

It took the young one _weeks_ for the family to let him go back out there again, and he had to bring twice as guards and promise not to run away like that ever again.

They changed the subject, now discussing some things Hyunjin had done today. The conversation was light, both of them making fun of each other for the most random things, normal sibling things.

He trusted Felix and his judgment, but his mind went back to that little part of him which wanted to bring his ass back to the castle.

They went back inside after one of the guards told them the Queen was looking for her sons. Towards the main room, both were gushing about some gossip of a faraway kingdom when Minho set his eyes on the youngest of his cousins, Jeongin, standing on the door with doe eyes.

His big smile toward his loved family member faded when he had the chance to look around the same room, seeing some of his servants moving objects eagerly here and there thanks to his mother’s orders.

The Queen turned her back to the chaos, sensing her son’s eyes all over the place. “Minho!” She called joyfully, walking his direction with different pieces of fabric on her hands. “We are arranging the space for the guests!” Explaining as if he hadn’t figured it out already, she continued, “Now tell me, which color do you prefer, _Black_ or _White?”_

“Right.” Minho inhaled, putting a forced smile on his face as his mother showed both shades. “ _Already_ , Mother? My birthday is next week.”

“Well, we have to be prepared, you know how it is.”

She was genuinely excited, and he could see it. It broke his heart not to share the same opinion regarding the preparations. “Well, since it is a masquerade ball after all, and the guests will probably be wearing all kinds of colors, how about… dark red?”

“Oh, _yes!_ It will look _absolutely_ stunning, pumpkin.” She cheered, clapping her hands in delight.

He stepped into the room as his mother bossed the servants around, noticing all changes that were done in such a short time.

Some new family pictures were hanging around the walls, next to different kinds of candelabras which were stored before, some mobiles were taken out of its original place and a strange carpet made its first appearance where he was standing.

He guessed it was just the beginning, seeing as his family was known for throwing huge, elegant, and charming events. He didn’t even realize he was still moving until he bumped on one tiny table at the side, almost breaking one of the “pretty” things his mom had put there earlier.

He let out a breath of relief, seeing the object was in perfect condition and wandered his eyes through the table. A closed box in the corner, however, puzzled him and caught his attention. Curiosity got the best of him, so he decided to sneak a peak on its content, to analyze properly what it was, and have an idea of how far they were with the preparations.

The shock expression was impossible to hide.

He felt like throwing up.

The details, The writing, the figures... _It all was wrong._

His hand rested on the piece of paper as he stared at it, wanting to throw it through the window. All _zillions_ of them, in fact. He sensed his finger tickle as if in his mind he was using magic to put it on fire and watch it burn satisfactorily so then he could toss the remains in the sea.

It was the party’s invitation.

“Mother, how are the invitations _already_ done?” He asked bringing the _horrible_ thing near his eyes. “I thought we started discussing this subject yesterday.”

Jeongin and Hyunjin, who he forgot were there in the first place, exchanged looks. This was not going to go well, and they both knew.

“Oh, sweetie, your father came up with the idea a few days before and demanded the invitations to be ready… I tried to convince him to at least talk to you first, but he insisted I arranged them as fast as possible. I am sorry.” She vocalized sweetly, trying to make her son see it wasn’t what she wanted, either.

Don’t get me wrong, she was really excited about receiving her guests, seeing her sister and nephews, and planning the event as it was. However, she knew well not only her boundaries but also, her _son_. So, at the moment, she tried to remain calm for him, too.

One thing was to _start_ decorating the room, which could be changed anytime. But _preparing_ and _sending_ invitations? He could not get back from that.

He, on the other hand, was fuming. He was seeing red at that point. All of it, _red_.

“Mother, tell me this _isn’t_ true.” He _begged,_ feeling completely powerless.

It was noticeable how much work he was putting in trying to recompose himself after he saw the Queen nodding, but it was clearly an impossible task to complete. If he thought he had no control of his life before, now he was sure.

He then bit the insides of his mouth, storming off the room silently. In his mind, though, there were screams everywhere.

Minho felt bad about not having a chance to speak to Jeongin, who he loved very much, but he was just not in the right mind to talk to anyone. He could do it tomorrow since they were probably staying over until the _fucking_ masquerade ball.

He also wanted to check on Felix's whereabouts, but fortunately for his luck, his giggles could be heard miles away. After some time, he noticed his sunshine was back at the castle, safe and sound.

So, he did the only thing he could do. He isolated himself in his room and stayed there.

All-day.

When it was dawn, the cooks knocked on his door, offering him dinner. However, he wasn’t in the mood to eat, so he just refused the food without even looking at it.

As it seemed to get darker and he was already bored out of his mind, he gave up trying to distract himself from his problems and sat on the base of the window in defeat. The anger was long gone, and only the frustration seemed to be his companion for the evening.

He rested his chin on his knee, thinking about if it was the right decision to miss the whole day like this. He got to the conclusion it was the best call he could have made since he knew he would probably lose his mind if he had to talk about the damn _ball_ one more time.

Truthfully, he was only worried about his father. Feeling a bit afraid of what he would do, seeing that his _son_ , the oldest prince of them all, skipped all activities for the afternoon. However, it was a fact he needed that moment.

_He could deal with the consequences later._

The prince was wrong thinking sleeping would be his next move, though.

Because, when he looked down at the gate of the castle and followed the path to the city with his eyes, he reminded himself of his earlier behavior today. He was about to risk _it all_ to get out of there and didn’t even realize it.

Firstly, Minho analyzed how far and dark it was. Then, his mind weighted the “goods and bads” of this idea, as the future king should always do. However, after a lot of thinking, he realized that, for the first time of his life, he just… _didn’t care_.

Maybe it was the first bad judgment he had ever had since he knew he was next in line. Maybe not. But he was _craving_ for this moment his whole life, and after a day like today, he needed something to boost his energy again. Something to show him how much _good_ he was doing to _his_ town and assure himself that he was going to be the best king they had ever had.

 _Who knows?_ They could be enjoying an event tonight for all he knew, and it was actually a very smart move to examine his and his father’s actions a little bit closer.

As he made his decision, he got up quickly and grabbed his hooded cloak from his wardrobe with a smirk on his face, knowing sleeping was the last thing he was planning to do tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, so that's what Minho is doing. Pray for him.  
> So; to those who skipped the beggining (which is totally fine by the way) basically I introduced Seungmin's supportive ass on the story, mentioning him being Jeongin's brother and also Minho's cousin. He is there because preparations to the ball seem to get faster than Minho's breathing. My poor child.  
> I don't know how I feel about this chapter? I hope it was good enough, but I feel like things are starting to get intriguing, so that's one thing.  
> Hope you liked it, though.  
> Good night! <3


	4. Chapter IV: "I'm just saying."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung meets a very strange man in the streets, but his heart wouldn't let him leave the guy alone in such a dark and cold place. He also finds out the royals are planning more events to tear people's life, and thinks about a way to deal with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, It took me long enough.  
> It's currently 2AM and I'm finally done with this chapter, and man, This was hard as hell.  
> By the way, There's a mention of violence as Minho and Jisung speak, and if you are not comfortable with that, i will catch you up in the end. It's okay.  
> I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again, though, seeing I have a math test this Saturday. I hate life.  
> Enjoy your reading, I'm sorry for taking so long, but I believe you will like it. It is a huge chapter too.  
> I won't say furthermore. Thank you for all your comments, again! It really is encouraging to see you all are liking to read it as much as I'm loving to write it.  
> Good reading.

Jisung had seen it all.

I mean, as an orphan who spent uncountable time in the streets, it was only understandable for him to have seen the craziest things possible.

Once, he was in a pub and almost take part in a bottle fight. He didn’t know why it happened in the first place, but he could still tell dozens of glasses and litters of beer were lost that night. He feared for his life.

All details of it where craved not only on his mind but also on his face, which held a slight scar in his jaw due to the men’s hostility. It bled like crazy for the first few hours, but he was fine in a few days. The mark was still there, though. Almost invisible, but there.

However, he had to say it was the first time he saw someone getting _mugged_ and not understand what it was happening.

“ _Sir,_ could you please let go of my backpack?” he heard a man complaining, huffing as he was trying to get his things back. “I assure you that is _not_ a wise decision coming from you. If my father-”

He was not sure what was going on in the guy’s head. Clearly, he was supposed to hit the man’s face and run, but he guessed he was too good-hearted for this, or he was just too stupid. For the idiot’s luck, the man seemed unarmed.

 _“Hey!”_ He called out, bringing all the attention to him. As they were in an alley, it was easy for his voice to stand out. “He is with me. Let him go.”

Jisung wasn’t the scariest person in the world and he knew that. He couldn’t hurt a fly if he tried. However, he had a certain reputation among thieves, and he wasn’t stupid enough to not use it for his own good when needed. He would just let them think whatever they want, for all he cared, that was not affecting him in the slightest.

The thug, after recognizing who he was staring at, looked at his furrowed eyebrows and almost immediately let go of the leather bag. He bowed slightly as a sign he was sorry, receiving a nod from Jisung and going his own way out of the place while being watched.

“ _Wow_ ,” He heard the man whispering, and looked back at his form which was already going right his way. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

Now, properly analyzing the face behind the huge hooded cloak… _Damn._ It was impossible not to stare at him or describe the victim in any other word than _impeccable_.

He felt his throat go completely dry and his brain to stop working correctly as his eyes studied his features in the most astonishing way possible.

From the darkish orange hair, that settled perfectly over his angled eyebrows and big eyes, to the harmonized plumb center lips and high cheekbones, everything about him just screamed _perfection_. He didn’t understand how that _angel_ was out of heaven just running around the town, much less with such expensive clothing.

He was probably noble. _What a shame._

He scoffed, realizing he had spent to much time staring at him, who seemed to be just as speechless. “Well, I should get going. Oh, and you should probably put your…” He didn’t even know all the names of the accessories he was using. _He must be stupid as shit to go around the town wearing all of those._ “things away, or someone might try to steal you again.”

The guy nodded, biting his lip and bringing his eyes to the concrete floor. _Was he… embarrassed?_

Jisung didn’t even notice when he had put the jewelry on his backpack, now eagerly looking at him as if he was a little kid ready to ask a bunch of questions.

It was a bit weird to carry on the conversation by himself. I mean, he wasn’t sure what the guy wanted, and he just wouldn’t speak back. Probably, the nobility had mannerism classes, _so why wasn’t he talking?_

Or not. How would he really know anyway? “Okay… You are welcome. Nice meeting you.” He nodded his head, turning his body around and making his way home.

It was almost as he had heard a _click_ coming from the guy’s head probably because he realized, he hadn’t even introduced himself to his savior. _“Wait!”_ He screamed, putting his hands up towards him in a hurry. “Could you please clarify to me what happened here?”

Even his form of speech was fancy. _Dear god._

“What do you mean?”

“Hm… I always thought it would be… _different_.” He licked his lips, bringing Jisung’s attention to that. It was clear he was struggling with his own thinking, not stopping his eyes from looking around all over the place. “You know? A... happy place.” He finished his sentence with the most disappointing voice crack Jisung could ever have heard.

The thief contained a huff on his throat. He didn’t even know what to think of that. I mean, nobility showing interest in the city? That was not something he had to deal with every day.

“Well, I am afraid you are wrong.” He sighed. “It once was, but thanks to the _royals_ we are in this dipshit.”

He saw the man furrow his eyebrows, almost pouting. He seemed to be calculating all types of equations on his mind. “Do you… Do not know who I am?” 

Jisung rolled his eyes, thinking he had heard that one before. He really was trying to be nice here, until he heard _that_. “You don’t think about buying me _food_ as a thank you, but you think about _flirting?_ Look, you are handsome and all, but your manners are out of this worl-”

“No, no, no!” He winded his eyes, probably rethinking his life decisions. “I mean it. You _don’t_ know me? At all?”

“Should I?” He asked, receiving only silence as a response. He tried to stop his mouth, but the upper class just got to his nerves in a _whole_ other way. “Man, this is one hell of an ego you got there.”

The guy gulped down, probably surprised with his honesty. Jisung just didn’t know the guy was actually thinking he could get sentenced to death. “Apologies. I thought I… had met you before.” He told him, seeming unclear about what he was saying.

Well, that was undoubtedly a lie. _How would Jisung ever forget about meeting a god-like this one?_

“My name is…” He seemed to think for a second, before bowing his head. “Minho. But call me Min-Hyung.”

As he was listening to the noble, he felt a freezing breeze get to his neck and make his body shiver slightly. The man in front of him, Minho, or whatever, could be wearing all kinds of thick clothing such as leggings, but he wasn’t.

He thought about going home, leaving the weirdo on his own, so he could deliver the mushrooms he got, to Chan, and start preparing dinner, near the fireplace.

But the thing was, he just couldn’t.

He looked as lost as a blind bird in the dark. He could get mugged once again, cornered by the population in anger, ripped off his clothes, or _worst_. There was a chance he didn’t even come back home.

Jisung thought about the family he might have. If he got lost and starved to death, they wouldn’t even _know_ what happened to him. _Who wouldn’t miss that pretty face?_

He didn’t understand, though, why would a noble be here of all places, when his attire and accessories made it clear he had something to eat, and where to sleep every day. However, he knew he couldn’t judge his decisions without even knowing _why_ he was there.

_Maybe, he was running from his family?_

He could have murdered someone, for all he knew.

_Well, that was most unlikely, seeing as he was about to “pretty please” his way out of a robbery._

When he called out Minho for being too good-hearted, that was a reflection of himself, too. But he decided to convince his own mind he was only considering bringing the guy along because his hyungs would burn him alive if he didn’t.

That wasn’t a lie, to be honest. Knowing the oldest of them all, Chan, he would probably make a speech about helping anyone regardless of their status, money, appearance, or skin color. His ear already twitched imagining Changbin’s whining too, saying that he could have gotten something out of this noble. Even if it was just a hug since both of them would always refuse him anyway.

“Jisung.” He introduced himself, without even bothering to bow his head back. “Well, Min, I assume you have nowhere to go and a lot of questions to ask, right?”

He nodded, biting his lip. He needed to stop doing that for Jisung’s sake.

“Okay.” The noble looked puzzled. He tilted his head _cutely_ , if he might add, and waited for an answer. “Come with me, then. We have a bit of food left and I got enough mushrooms for us to make a soup.”

It was impossible not to notice how happy he had gotten. He lifted the corner of his lips and bowed, tagging along his side as he followed his form in the dark.

As both went their way to his house, silence consumed the air quickly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the orange-headed opened and closed his mouth a few times, not stopping from studying his surroundings not even once. It was almost like he would ask Jisung to stop walking at any minute, so he could just take a paper out of his bag and start writing things about the place.

Unexpectedly, a strong breeze hit his arms almost as if it would bring his whole body with it, and he could contain himself from shivering harder this time.

He didn’t notice when the noble took his cloak off and put it on his form, humming something as he did so. He only noticed when he felt like he was hugging a sheep out of nowhere. It was just so _fluffy_ he could sleep with it his whole life, not even complaining once. There were a few pockets, which made it heavier to carry around, but it helped to keep his body warm.

He looked back at him, raising his brows. He was about to say something when he realized Minho wasn’t even looking at him, as he was just staring sadly at one of the shops they were passing by, that had shut down a few months ago. “Why did they close? It seemed nice.” He heard him ask almost in a whisper like he was telling a secret.

“They broke.” He simply answered, looking back to their front. “The _King_ made them pay more taxes because they were selling well so the royal family could _party_.” He felt his anger dripping from his mouth as he said so.

Minho almost choked on his words. He was just… so shocked it hurt to see. “N-No! He can’t just do that!”

“Well, he is the King, after all.”

“ _So_? He is just a consort.” He retorted, seeming as angry as he was about the situation. That simple act made Jisung warm up to him a little. “He can’t do anything without my m-majesty.”

“I don’t know, love. I have heard he steals the queen’s documents when she is busy, though, but that is just a rumor. What matters is that they broke because of _him_.” He clarified, locking eyes.

He didn’t know, but his eyes were filled with rage as he looked at Minho. “You don’t like the royals that much, do you?” He blurted out, already knowing it was obvious.

All it was heard was a chuckle. “Why would I? They did nothing but erase all good parts of this place for their own benefits.” He explained, thinking it was just common sense. “I’m not really a fan of nobles, too, but I think I’m going to like the way you think.”

Facing the taller one, he could see his cheeks get red as he brought his eyes to the floor, playing with his nails.

When they got to his place, it was impossible to hold himself back from analyzing the other’s features looking for some kind of disgust. He was waiting for a remark, a chuckle… _anything_ remotely disrespectful from him.

But all Jisung got was a lowered eyebrow. Seeing the condition his house was in, was heartbreaking to Min, but he did not know that.

“I’m home and I brought someone with me!” He shouted, kicking the door closed as both got in. He took the cloak off, putting it softly on the highest shelf on the tip of his toes. He couldn’t afford to pay for another one if it got destroyed by his cat.

But Lino was nowhere to be seen. He was probably sleeping in his room, getting away from the guest.

Such an introvert, like his father.

“Jisung, if you are telling me you brought _another_ cat home when we can barely feed the one we already got, I swear…” He heard Changbin threaten his way out of the corridor, now looking at them properly. “ _Oh my god,_ it’s a person! _Chan_ , It’s a person!” He squeaked, calling Chan out of his room.

“It’s a what now?” The oldest mumbled, getting to the door in the sleepiest way possible. He winded his eyes as he saw Minho, who was respectfully holding his hands and putting on a tiny smile.

He just looked so tiny in Jisung’s eyes, even though he was probably older and clearly taller.

The owners of the place shared a look of shock, before he interrupted, “I brought the mushrooms! Let’s eat, please.”

“ _Jisung,”_ Chan scolded, hitting his arm as he got closer. He pretended it hurt and whined before his Hyung had the chance to continue. “let the man introduce himself. Who are you?”

“You can call me Min,” He bowed his head, holding a laugh in his throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt you today, I swear it is a one-time event.” He went back to being serious. “Jisung offered me to accompany him, but if I am a bother, I can leave.”

“It’s okay.” Changbin reassured with a smile, “Do you have anywhere to go?”

“As for today, I don’t.” He licked his lips, pondering what to say next. “But I will have to get back to my family in a few hours, I’m just visiting.”

“Are you hungry?” Chan shot another question, barely leaving some time for him to think.

Before he could answer, though, his stomach growled as if it was waiting for its moment in the spotlight. It was funny to see Minho cursing under his breath, on his eyes, like he was about to refuse the food.

“I guess you are.” Jisung chuckled, “It’s okay, I brought enough for us all and soup goes a long way.” He promised, leaving the ingredients on Chan’s hand.

The noble wasn’t as bad as he thought he was.

While waiting for the food, he had an opportunity to chat a bit more with him. Chan and Changbin made all kinds of noises in the kitchen as background music, and it couldn’t be funnier to hear them arguing rooms away.

He had a lot more questions to ask than anybody could think of. He asked from the smallest things, such as his daily routine as someone who lived in the city, to how did it end up that way.

His behavior was unlike any other upper class he had known. The sparkles he had on his eyes talking about his brothers were endearing to watch, as he commented on imaginary realities where they could meet. He told him how much they would appreciate the little things in the house, even with it being as broken as Jisung was saying.

His younger brother saw the good on everything, according to him. And the middle one was extremely playful, so he would love to bicker with the dynamic duo in the kitchen as they burnt something while cooking.

“To be honest, I was quite shocked when I saw the condition the city is in.” The noble stated, locking eyes with him. “I hoped things were easier for you here.”

“I hoped they were, too.” He sighed, wanting to speak a bit more, but unsure if he _should_.

It was just too painful.

Minho seemed to notice he was chewing the insides of his mouth, as he put a hand on his shoulder and made it clear that it was okay. "I won't judge." He assured.

Before silence could take over again, He breathed in, in an attempt to calm himself before speaking about such a subject as his family. 

“Well, for me, ever since my parents were unfairly accused of sorcery, it got harder to go on without having them by my side.” He answered honestly, not really knowing why he had wanted to mention this. It was impossible to refrain his stuttering that followed his watery eyes afterward, but he felt the need to explain what he had meant by that as those awful memories made their way to his mind. “When my dad got better mysteriously from a disease, the _King_ accused my family of using magic and executed both h-him and my m-mom.”

He just couldn’t explain what he saw on Minho that made him open his heart to him. _Maybe it was the fact that he was almost a stranger?_

“He only got better-r, because _I_ went to a healer. We used medicinal plants, Hyung.”

He never mentioned his family to spare himself of how hard his sobbing could get. He could not afford to die from dehydration.

His heart ached as he thought of them. The day they parted was the most painful day of his _existence_ , by far. He remembered trembling as guards forcefully ripped his mom off his arms, sobbing for the life of him as he saw his father getting cuffed and pushed out of the house as both shouted repeatedly “I love you”.

He stared at the fireplace while his mind made him believe he could hear their screams all over again.

He felt Minho’s hand on his cheek, cleaning the tears that fell in such a quick pace, bringing him back to reality. He locked eyes with him again, feeling his heart on his mouth and his hands shaking.

He was ready to sob right there.

 _“I’m sorry that happened to you.”_ He whispered as if they were the only ones in the entire house, holding his hand in an attempt to stop the shakiness. “You are very strong, Jisung. I swear to you, things will get better here. It wasn’t your fault.” He assured, almost as if it was an actual promise.

_It wasn’t his fault._

He nodded his head, trying to stop his sobbing. It was when he felt his body get embraced by Minho’s bigger form, tightly hugging his sides in an attempt to calm down, that he felt a little bit of peace on his soul after talking about his family.

After his mind decided to relax again, they both parted slowly before awkwardly looking away.

_“Guys, c’mon! The food is going to get cold and Changbin already got half of it on his bow!”_

[...]

“I don’t believe _you,_ a noble, never had a mushroom soup once in your life!” Chan doubtfully stated as he put the huge pan on the center of the table.

Minho chuckled. “I swear! Most of the soups I tested had everything in it, even meat.” He explained, licking his lips as he looked at the food.

After serving everyone, the oldest of them sat down and stared at his own bow. It looked delicious for everyone in the room, but as the noble brought the spoon to his mouth, everyone had to stop and watch.

Jisung grinned as he noticed his cheeks getting red again, probably because of all the attention. It could be because of the heat, too.

After watching him close his eyes in delight, everyone was satisfied enough to clap before dig in themselves. He breathed out, widening his eyes like a baby. “Jesus Christ, this is good as fuck!”

He swore he saw sparkles on them.

“You are too fancy to swear, my _lord_. Leave it to us, poor kids.” The thief joked, making both of his hyungs to stop eating immediately and feel their laughs making their way forcefully through their throat. The joke wasn’t even that funny, to begin with, but Chan fell from his chair right in the wooden floor, and that action alone made their reactions intensify by the second. Even Minho was holding his stomach to prevent himself from laughing his soup out at that point.

As they started to calm down and Jisung swiped his tears, the victim of it all was the first one to speak up. His face was serious, almost as if he were deeply upset by the situation. _“Heart been broke too many times.”_

They were not expecting that, so it was unanimous to start laughing. Everyone’s stomach was hurting at that point, deciding whether they should wait a little longer to keep dinner going, or just slap their own faces so they could finally get back to being serious and finish eating.

He thought Minho looked extremely comfortable next to them, sharing a huge grin as he watched Changbin choking on his soup while snorting. It looked like he didn’t crack jokes often so that positive response probably made him feel accepted.

But it was just his theories.

“You know… People don’t usually talk to me like this.” He proved what had been on his mind. “I’m a… _noble_ , after all.”

“So what? I don’t even fear the King himself,” He told him, smirking.

“Oh, you don’t? that’s quite stupid of you.”

“No, Hyung. In fact, if I saw him on the streets, I would actually beat the fuck out of his royal ass-”

“ _Jisung_!” Chan gasped, putting a hand on his eyebrows in pure shock. “Are you insane? Don’t talk like this in front of the... _Changbin_ , aren’t you going to say anything?! Help me out here, will you!”

He stopped sipping his food as he heard his name being called. “…I mean, is he wrong? Yesterday _you_ were the one who told us if you ever saw him in the woods, you would shoot him with an arrow and tell people you thought it was a bird, Hyung.”

 _“Changbin, what the fuck!”_ He eyed him, clearly ready to fight.

“ _What?_ I’m just saying.” He went back to sipping his soup again, calm as the sea.

Minho couldn’t contain his snort, as Jisung chuckled under his breath.

“I did _not_ use those words!” He stopped facing Changbin and turned to the only one who could get his head on a plate, “I swear I did not.”

“Oh no, you did. I was there.” Jisung stated, cleaning his mouth with a piece of fabric. “And it doesn’t even make sense, it’s not like you will ever see a bird with a crown running around.”

Changbin giggled as he imagined a crow with a crown.

“Pardon me, boys, but do you _want_ to starve to death? I might as well put my head on a guillotine if you would like, seeing as if Minho opens his mouth to his friends, I’m dead and you are _foodless_.”

Min smiled, reassuring it was fine. “Don’t worry, I’m won’t say anything to anyone. He is also not my favorite person, after all.”

As they exchanged a few more jokes and cleaned their dishes, they all sat on the couch and started getting to know the guest better, who barely said anything about his home. He shifted his body a few times, bothered with something on his back too, but didn't say a thing. They had already covered the most random topics such as music, food, dance, their own interests, and life as an upper class when Minho noticed the sun was about to come up and he wasn’t home.

Quickly, muttering a few apologies and thanking them all, Min bowed his head on his way out of the house, taking his bag with him without even waiting for Jisung to offer company on the streets.

That bummed him out a little. Of course, they met today, but he already liked him enough to _bear_ with his presence. At least it was day now, so it was safer for him to go home. Wherever that was.

“So, before we go to sleep, I have to tell you something,” Chan stated, bringing both of their attention to him. They sat down quickly, looking insanely at the oldest. “Today when I was hunting, I heard from a friend that the King was preparing for a Masquerade ball.”

Jisung felt his blood boil. He wanted to throw the whole couch on the window and scream until he had no voice anymore. “You are _kidding_.” He grinned his teeth, clenching his fist as he felt his nail puncturing his flesh.

“Unfortunately, Am not. There’s a chance they will collect taxes this week in advance, to pay for it all.”

Changbin was speechless. His mouth was hanging in the air as he threw his body on the back of the chair, chewing the insides of his mouth to prevent from killing someone out of anger.

As everyone was in silence, his mouth was faster than his mouth. “We _have_ to steal this party.”

The bearer of such news winded his eyes, being the first one to speak up. “Jisung, are you _crazy_? The place will be full of guards!”

“What exactly would we steal?” The smallest asked, ignoring his Hyung’s last statement. He was definitely interested in the conversation.

“Food, for the rest of the winter.” He explained, dead serious.

“Good lord.” Chan sighed. “You _are_ crazy, I must be the only one who thinks in this goddamed place…”

“Hear me out,” He pleaded, looking back at him. “The place is going to be full of people. If we can distract the guards just enough, we get a chance to come in.”

The oldest seemed to think through the idea, playing with his hands as he put all of his weight back on his knee. “And the clothing? We don’t have fancy suits for this, man.”

“The royals already made it easier for us the minute they decided it was going to be a masquerade ball, Hyung. We can come up with suits later.”

“Exactly, Binnie.” Jisung chuckled, satisfied. “That was so dumb of them, oh my God.”

“Why would they have a _masquerade_ ball when any crazy person could go in undercover?” Chan asked in a yawn, more to himself than to the others in the room. “That seems stupid.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t think they thought people would be stupid enough to try to steal a place filled with guards,” Changbin said, receiving a death glare from the youngest. “I’m just saying.” He lifted his hands in defeat.

“That was not very helpful, you know.”

“Well, we can think this through later, because I really need to sleep, guys.” Chan tried to reason, getting up and stretching his arms. “Tomorrow we will talk more about it, okay? If we are going to do this, we still need to find a way to get in.”

Both agreed, getting up themselves and deciding to go get ready for bed. They shared a few hugs and goodnights, each going to their own room right after. It was a long day, after all.

Jisung was about to leave the room when a particular piece of clothing got his attention on the top shelf. He remembered what it was as he tried to catch it, tiptoeing his way to the fabric so he could reach it again.

_Ah, Minho had forgotten his attire here._

He thought about getting it back to him, but he realized for the second time today, he didn’t know where he lived, or if he would ever see him again someday.

He sighed. What a bummer.

As he unsuccessfully tried to fold that giant piece of clothing, he felt things leaving its pockets and hitting his foot before he could even process is happening

He looked at a few papers, puzzled. If it were important, Minho could get in trouble without them, and that made him feel slightly unbothered.

To be honest, he didn’t want to look at them. I mean, they weren’t his, and he did not like to step any boundaries, but he had to clean the mess he had made or Chan would freak out in the morning.

As he got closer to its figure and held it on his hand, his eyes shined as he saw what them was.

 _The masquerade ball’s invitation._ Quite a few of them, actually.

_That was the way to get them in._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made myself cry with that Minsung's moment.  
> Tears. They are everywhere.  
> For those who skipped it, Jisung told him about how his parents died.  
> Well, Thank you for reading this far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> I love the way Jisung thinks, Hahaha. In the next chapter we will get Minho's point of view about the town, by the way.  
> I'm not sure if things are moving a bit fast between them? I hope not. But their emotional moment was everything to me, I wasn't expecting to write it so soon but I just felt like it fit and now I'm soft.  
> Until next update, everyone! <3  
> Night.


	5. Chapter V: Excuse me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho's family demands an explanation to why he has been acting so weird since his secret getaway. His father seems bothered at dinner, and that might be hurtful to him in the end of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here we finally are, with chapter five! Took me long enough.  
> This one is going to hurt in the end, so I advice you to get some tissues. I apologize in advance, but it'll make sense after, I swear.  
> Everything has a meaning here. But it's quite cute!! over all, I guess.  
> There's a bit of emotional abuse and implied violence, too, I should warn you.  
> Sorry for taking so long with this one, I was kind of stuck and school didn't really help.

After an unforgettable night full of _Minho’s firsts_ , first getaway, first mugging situation, first friends outside the castle…

Now he was experiencing his first _meltdown._

Nothing had hurt him more than visiting his town. The most alive place in the world to him was… _dead_.

To the point he set foot on the place to the moment the left there, he felt horrified. After the visit, his mind was marked with every single part of the city on it. The closed shops, damaged houses, sick people. It all never left his brain again.

When he closed his eyes, there it was. The so feared _reality_.

First, he was shocked, of course. He wasn't expecting half of the things he saw there, so it was only understandable for him to be speechless. He ran towards his home gripping his backpack with an undecipherable expression, trying his best not to freak out nor care about the looks he was getting.

As closer as he got to his destination, he could _feel_ those hurtful memories taking up his whole-body piece by piece, making themselves present on the small tears that unconsciously formed on the corner of his eyes. Since his legs were getting weaker and his breathing heavier, he decided to allow himself to sit on the nearest and darkest tree to think through his frustrations before continuing his way home.

After successfully getting in the castle silently, he had to pretend to be well-rested enough to take care of his activities and go back to what he realized it was a _luxurious_ and extravagant lifestyle. He started to take note of every little part of the palace and its items, such as the unnecessary amount of fabric all over the place and link it to things that were missing on his people’s routine.

_That right there could have prevented Jisung from getting cold that night._

Jisung.

He smiled remembering the guy who he had met on his previous little trip. As he was about to get robbed, the handsome and extremely charming man saved him from getting his things stolen and he was grateful for that. He had so much fun with his family, too, and for the first time of his life, he felt like he _belonged s_ omewhere in this enormous world.

He felt a little pinch in his heart when he remembered the house he lived in, though. The way the place was not in its best shape hurt him deeply. Not only because it was a part of his town and a concrete _prove_ he clearly wasn’t doing his job as a leader, but also because Jisung deserved only the finest things in the world. 

He was extremely sweet to him, even after all the upper class had put him through, and he didn’t _have_ to be. He could have sworn at him, screamed at his class behavior, let him get mugged or completely lost in the dark… But he didn’t. He offered him not only shelter but also _food_ , which was something they didn’t have much even for themselves.

Not happy enough being this wonderful, the man was also _stunning._ His round yet small, dark, and delicate eyes went perfectly well with his thin upper lips and seemed to shine every time he looked at his brothers. His oval face and cheekbones reminded Minho of a cute squirrel, and whenever the prince reminded himself of such information his heart seemed to skip a beat and it was impossible to contain a smile from taking its place on his face. His hair, dark and soft-like, covered what probably was another perfect feature on his face, his eyebrows.

 _And when he talked about his parents?_ It took everything on him to even say a word regarding this such sensitive subject, and it was clear as ice how much he had suffered. It impressed Minho, seeing how strong he was for being such a playful person despite everything that had happened to him. 

He truly was one of the kindest people he had met. All of them were.

Thinking about the mugging situation, maybe that person who tried to steal from him needed his things more than he did. But, at that moment, he wasn’t sure of how long he would be out of the palace, so it was only understandable his desperation to get his things back.

Before getting out of there, he filled his backpack with things that could help him get back to his home, like a map and a compass, so he wouldn’t get lost. It wasn’t as much help in the beginning, but as he had to run back before the day was officially starting, the items proved themselves to be the best choice he had made on that day.

He also remembered going into the ballroom and taking as many invitations as his pockets could fit to get rid of it all, but the minute he got to his room after that incredible night, he noticed he did not threw them on fire nor got rid of them in any way.

Actually, he didn’t even remember _where_ they were, along with his cloak. However, he was glad he got the chance to make them disappear, even not knowing how, and avoiding as many guests as he could. That was the whole point of it.

Thankfully, nobody in the palace seemed to have noticed a thing. Well, he had to threaten a few guards (not really meaning it, but they didn’t have to know that) for that to happen, but even so, not one family member said anything about it and even asked him if he had slept well that night. 

He could have gotten in trouble if anyone knew about it, so he decided not to share with his brothers anything regarding his getaway. Not their town, not Jisung, _Nothing_. He knew he could trust them, of course, but it was also a fact every little part of the palace had ears and eyes everywhere. 

Don’t get me wrong, though. He wanted to tell them all about his visit more the _anything_ in this world, about the friends he had made and all parts of the city he saw. He had to bite the insides of his cheek every time he was with them so he would stop himself from spilling his little secret, because it was just too _risky_ , not only for his well being but for Jisung’s family.

For a few days, he avoided his father, too, purposely finishing work early and eating later so he would not face him. He didn’t know if he knew anything, but he also reminded himself he missed a pile of work that day, and that alone was a reason for him to get furious with his son.

After that adventure, though, he realized a lot of stuff regarding the monarchs’ way to deal with economical and political decisions. It made him open his eyes to what he _really_ was doing there and gave him a bigger purpose to keep the crown as he was already supposed to do. He took note of every meeting and every suggestion the board made, so he could analyze it the best way possible at night and give them an answer the next day.

He had to make it better for his people. If their needs came first before, now they were _all_ he was about.

 _Now_ , a few days closer to his birthday, he was anxious about everything _._ His brothers and his cousins tried their best to cheer him up and forget a little about the whole masquerade thing, but it was _impossible_ not to think about it. Every corner of the place was constantly filled with something new that reminded him how much he hated the fact he was going to do something he didn’t want just because his father made him do it. Lovely.

At least his back was feeling better. That actually was something that really made Minho feel better about his problems.

He was brought back to reality as he heard a soft knock on his bedroom door. It was weird to have someone interrupting his reading in the afternoon today because there was not even one meeting scheduled and he made it clear not to disturb him to talk about the party or else he would murder someone on the spot. As he heard the _giggles_ that were right behind it, he knew immediately there was nothing serious about what was coming for him today.

“Get in, boys,” He invited them in, recognizing their youthful spirits right away.

They opened the door with the biggest smiles on their faces, like they had done something they were extremily proud of.

“Hyung!” Jeongin called for him, opening his arms in excitement. “Felix taught me how to use his bow and arrow!”

“You suck at it though,” Seungmin confessed chuckling before getting hit by the youngest of the room. “ _Yah_! I’m older than you!”

Hyunjin made his way through them into Minho’s room and sat on his studying table, “We don’t really respect the age gaps in this household, do we?” He smiled, ear to ear.

“Clearly.” Seungmin eyed his brother, so they stared at each other until both broke in laughter.

“I’m here!” Felix came in, breathless, throwing his body on the floor. “Man, you all ran _so_ fast!”

Minho closed his book, taking his weight off his back and sitting properly on his bed as he exhaled. “Why were you running in the first place?” 

They all looked at each other without saying a word. Minho didn’t really understand what was happening, and without a subtitle, it seemed like an impossible task. They were shaking their heads and raising their brows as if they were debating whether to talk to him or not.

“ _Well?_ ” He asked, raising his brow himself.

Jeongin’s expression immediately turned to the most pleading eyes he had ever seen in his life. Something was definitely up with them. “We might have… a few theories.”

“Regarding?”

“You.” Hyunjin looked back at him, dead serious.

Seungmin eyed him, thinking about jumping on his throat. _Obviously_ , that was not how the conversation was supposed to go on Seung’s head, but with 5 people in the room, how could it? The chances of him strangling someone were high today. “That _mouth_ of yours, does it ever stop making noise.” 

_“What?_ We’ve got to know why he is so weird and giggly lately!” He shot back, trying to defend his straightforwardness. 

Minho didn’t even try hiding the laughter that left his mouth. “Excuse me?”

"You know, I thought about it.” Felix raised his hand as he sat up and everyone’s eyes went on him. “And I've concluded that you, Hyung, is getting crazy. It must be your age."

"Oh really, what gave me away." He asked rhetorically after narrowing his eyes, not believing what he was hearing. “I’m only two years older than you, dumbass."

“Well, I guess my time might be coming too.” 

_“So_ , we talked to each other downstairs, and we realized you’ve been acting… weird. Sometimes you get sad out of nowhere, then you get giggly and embarrassed, and then you go back to feeling melancholic… is this some kind of multiple personality case? Because if it is, tell us and we can help you.” The oldest of his cousins stated, taking back control of how he wanted the conversation to go in the first place.

He was quick to respond, licking his lips. “It’s not.”

“Then? What is it?” The youngest in the room asked, eyes sparkling in curiosity.

“Pft.” Hyunjin cleared his throat. “do you have a crush on someone or something?”

His mind froze at his brother’s question. It’s not like he was crushing on _Jisung_ , but he couldn’t deny the reason why he got all _giggly_ out of nowhere was because of him. Sometimes, in the middle of the day, he remembered his adventure and thought about the state the city was in and he got immediately heartbroken. But before those thoughts filled his brain, Jisung’s smiling form came in mind and he couldn’t contain a silly laugh.

When Hyunjin asked that question, nobody in the room was expecting it to actually be some sort of love interest. I mean, it was _Minho_ they were talking about, so of course, it was something else. Maybe stress? Who knew?

But as they received a little pause in his speech and a stutter, all eight eyes winded like they were staring at a new and undiscovered treasure in the middle of the room that just popped out of nowhere.

It was almost unbelievable.

“N-No!” He cursed himself for taking too long to answer. “It’s nothing.”

Almost in a heartbeat, all younger figures were on the floor looking at him without blinking. They sat so close to his legs that Minho almost felt part of his oxygen go to their way instead of his. 

_“Who?!”_ They asked at the same time as if they had planned that before, which was getting weird on his eyes.

Before he could open his mouth, though, it didn’t take long for them to start throwing the most random names and _discuss_ his love life in front of him like he wasn’t even there.

“Is it the one prince from the nearest kingdom?"

“They don’t even know each other, Innie.”

“Right, Felix.”

“Maybe it’s a guard? Is it Choi Yeonjun?”

“I mean, we all have a crush on him, Hyunjin. How can we not? Have you _looked_ at him?”

“Is it Soobin? He is the sweetest, I love him.”

He didn’t even know how he got in this situation in the first place, or who was talking to who. He chuckled out of nervousness seeing them putting so much work in finding out something that wasn’t even _true_. He thought so, at least. “Funny. Let’s stop this here.” He tried to get up, but they just held his legs so he wouldn’t get out without answering their zillions of questions. “Well, we are back to acting like children now, aren’t we?”

“ _Pleeease_ Hyung, talk to us.” Felix pleaded, pouting. That Motherfucker.

Jeongin accompanied his cousin’s features, doing the same with his eyes and lips, and Minho swore he saw the light in his orbs purposely fade so he could feel hurt about not sharing his secret.

That’s why he couldn’t have anything that was only his. Not nice things, not secrets, not _anything_ , since they would just plead their way through his consciousness. 

He sighed, seeing they wouldn’t give up that easily. “I can’t tell you how, where, or when, but I met a person. That’s it. But I am _not_ crushing on him!” 

Hyunjin swiped a fake tear on the corner of his eyes, “Love is so beautiful, Oh my God.” Right after putting the back of his hand on his forehead. “I am so emotional, someone hold me.” He threw his body on Seungmin’s form, who was shocked out of his flesh. His soul could be seen with the same surprised expression if any of them had a supernatural ability.

Felix smiled until his face hurt. “What? How-”

 _“Do we know him?”_ The one who was frozen finally dared to speak up.

“Oh my god!” Jeongin cheered before his eyes got dead serious, telling them he wasn’t there just to drink tea and chat. “I say we take him out.”

They all looked back at the youngest with mouths hanged in the air. Even Hyunjin had to lift his head from his cousin’s lap for a brief moment, knitting his brows.

“On a _date_ , for god’s sake!” He showed the most disgusting expression his features could shape. “Y’all need an emotional counselor and it shows.”

Minho blinked a few times, still processing everything that was happening. “Well.” He started, “He is very nice, I’ll give you that, but I can’t take him on a date, Innie. I’ll have to get married in a few months for the coronation, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“Marry him, then,” Felix suggested as if it was that easy.

He choked on his saliva, feeling a fierce battle between his sanity and his lungs. “I met him _once!_ ”

“So did Cinderella but look where it got her.” The archer stated, receiving a laugh from everyone but the oldest of them all. 

“I don’t see him like that, guys.” He tried to reason but failed miserably after the next one opened his mouth.

“If you don’t see him like that, why did you say it wouldn’t be fair to him since you need to get married?’

He stopped to think for a moment. “Not the point, _Hyunjin_.” He tried to defend himself, but it was obvious his situation only got worse as time passed by.

He looked back at the antique clock in his wall, noticing it was later than he thought it was. He sighed, noticing it wasn’t long till their father called them for dinner.

He would love to try and ignore him one more time, but he knew it was too much by now. He couldn’t skip meals any longer, or people would start gossiping in the castle about the _rebel_ first son, and the impatient king. “Well. It was lovely chatting with all of you about my love life. I can see you all have plenty of stuff to do, _huh_?” Minho smiled, about to commit a murder. Or, four, to be exact. He didn’t even wait for a response, as he started to get everyone up in their feet, fixing their hairs and collars, “Father will call us any minute now. I can see you are all sweaty, why don’t you take a shower?” he recommended, trying to get them away from him before the last tip of his sanity were gone.

“Together?” Hyunjin quirked an eyebrow, looking back at Seungmin, who looked very much disgusted by the older’s suggestion.

It seemed like he had just tasted the bitterest lemon yet, “ _Ew_ , Jin. We are cousins, you know.”

Almost immediately the room exploded in giggles. The flirty one threw his body forward, out of the table, and almost hit it on the floor, but he was just laughing so much it didn’t even bother him, to be honest.

After that _unnecessary_ , in Minho’s opinion, dialogue, he finally got to expel everyone from his chambers and put his weight on the other side of the door as he closed his eyes.

_Of course, he didn’t like Jisung._

_That was just his younger family members' influence on his way to see things_ , he thought so.

He met the guy once. He is not part of some sort of fairy tale, where the prince get his significant other, after one date, no matter how difficult life is. He is in a kingdom, about to become their _ruler_ for god’s sake, and it wasn’t something he could just ignore and throw it away.

If he actually had feelings for this guy, which he told himself he hadn’t, he would just have to suck it up. Sung was nice and lovable for sure, but he could not try to explore whatever he felt about him when a _whole_ town depended on him. He just couldn’t do it.

So, as his only way to approach his thoughts, he decided not to think about him anymore. It’s not like they would ever meet again, seeing as he was the next in line and, unfortunately, Jisung was just another subject. Maybe, one day, he dared to get away again before his marriage, but it was unlikely and that pained his heart.

[…]

Dinner was… weird. 

In the queen’s perspective, seeing her son eating at their table again was the best feeling she had had in years. She had been worried about his nutrition, but after asking him a bunch of questions regarding his health and making sure he wouldn’t skip meals in family again, she felt relieved after a long time.

The king usually wasn’t much of talker, but this night, he was especially silent. It worried all boys, to be honest, but Minho was the one who was most unstable with the situation.

He tried not to eye his father after every bite he took of his food, but it was almost impossible. His senses were telling him he would not appreciate whatever destiny's got to him, so he tried to compose himself and push those thoughts away as he answered his mom’s undying doubts.

He felt his legs shake occasionally, and his eyes were filled with fear. He was about to rip a part of his pants due to the amount of pressure he put into scratching it, out of nervousness.

He did not like that feeling at _all_.

His brothers and cousins also watched him, whispering in such low voice that only helped his anxiety to rise. They probably already had noticed Minho’s uneasiness, but no one could do anything about it for now, and he didn’t know, but that was what scared him the most.

He devoured his food like a wolf along with his pack, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling he would get later on his stomach, ready to excuse himself and lock his bedroom door as fast as he could. But, when he was about to speak and get the hell out of there, his father stared at him with the most _annoyed_ eyes he had ever seen.

“Son, could I speak with you in my office after I’m done?”

It wasn’t much of a question by his tone, so it didn’t help his case at all. He gulped down hard, nodding his head as he looked at the plate in front of him. 

His recovered back would pay for his sins.

As much as everyone wanted to do something about it, spending too much time on the table wasn't the answer, so they were obligated to excuse themselves and make their ways out of the room.

His Mother looked pitiful; eyes heavy as she watched her son’s anxiety show itself. She got up, after all her other sons and nephews had left, and whispered words on her husband’s ear. Minho couldn’t hear, but she had asked him not to be so harsh with his words.

She left the room, thinking her son would be alright for the night.

The king didn’t take his eyes off Minho as he made his way out of the room, silently demanding to be followed.

The Prince already knew what it was going to happen, but, unfortunately, nobody could help him, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He followed his father through the stairs, holding his tears down as he tried to come up with happy thoughts. It was almost impossible, but he pretended to hold the hands of his brothers as he walked down the cold corridor, praying for the best.

He imagined they were all outdoors, chatting, and laughing like they were doing earlier. Some food was spread on a blanket, the sun was high and warm making its way on their skins and music could be heard from far away. The grass was moist and the wind light, making all comfortable outside the castle.

He told himself he wouldn’t think of him again, but _Jisung_ was also in the picture, with a piece of fabric around his torso that wouldn’t let him get cold even with such a sunny scenario. Chan and Changbin also were there, sharing their mushroom soup to his family.

He swept the small tears off his eyes while looking at the floor while they seemed to get closer to the office.

His father opened the door, letting him come in right after and observing his every movement. As Minho sat down on a chair which was in the corner of the room, he closed the environment and showed him a big smile, staring the boy right in front of him.

“You are very sociable, aren’t you, my son?” He asked.

Minho didn’t understand why he was asking such questions, so he just furrowed his brows. “Not really, my majesty, I don’t have many friends outside the castle.”

 _“Huh_. Funny to hear you say that.” He turned his back to him, going to his dark and old cabinet. He opened it carefully, as Minho felt like throwing up. He picked up a leather bullwhip, analyzing its bloody scent, normally used to torture his enemies into spilling dirty secrets about other kingdoms and his own.

Or his son, when he disobeyed his wills.

“Because why else would you leave the castle like that?” He continued, whispering as if they were in the most silent place ever. He played with the _disgusting_ thing on his hand, as some sort of trophy. Only to him, of course.

_He knew._

_But... how?_

The prince didn’t know what to say, or how to move. He felt a tremble go through his body from the tip of his toe to the top of his head as he tried to open his mouth a few times, and just he couldn’t speak. It was like his voice wasn’t _there._

His body? numb. He was so terrified, the thought of moving was the last one on his head.

When he finally managed to let out a comprehendible sentence, he felt his tears coming up again. But he couldn’t show it. “I-I wanted to visit the city, f-father.” 

_“Oh.”_ He stopped, facing him with the hideous objected that had hurt Minho more times than he could count. “You wanted… to _visit_ the city. And, for what?” He chuckled, “You _escaped_ the castle, alone, and left a pile of work for me and your mother to take care of.”

He gulped down, squeezing his eyes shut. He started to play with his fist to distract himself from what was really happening. “For n-nothing father. I was wrong, I’m s- _sorry_.”

 _“Yes_ , you were. That’s my whole point!” He lifted his chin, as he felt disgusted by his son’s tear. “You understand why I am about to hurt you, right? You disobeyed me.” 

_No. No. No. He didn’t deserve this._

“Father, my apologies, I _promise_ I won’t do it again. P-Please, don’t do this.” He pleaded, trying to save himself from the pain.

“Of course, you won’t!” He tightened his grip on his cheeks in the most prideful tone possible, obligating him to face him and to see the hate on his father’s eyes. “Because… If you do, next time will be worse.”

_Destiny could suck his dick._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I'm really sad about writing this but I swear it will make sense.  
> Minho is the sweetest little bean :((  
> I hope you liked it! I had a fun time writing half of skz's dialogues, so I hope you laughed as much as I did.  
> The ball's almost here, everyone, so hold your horses. That will be quite interesting.  
> Thank you for your adorable comments, I'm getting really excited to write it with such good reviews. We also have 45 kudos omg!! Thank you so much! <3  
> Night, guys! <3


	6. Chapter VI: You can't even drink in this shit.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 3RACHA are getting ready for their big night. Some concerns show up, but they brush it off in order to focuse on their goal: Maintaing their sanity intact before stealing the royalty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi.  
> Well, here we are. The big day!  
> I'm sorry for taking so long with this one, but to be honest, I was kind of stuck. I had so many ideas running on my head nonstop, and between this and a bunch of tests that came out of nowhere, I had little time to write.  
> I'm not so sure about this chapter, but I am so excited for the next one, though. I'm think i will be posting it next week, and I should tell you that the ball will have different points of view and probably take up two chapters. I have a few things in mind xD  
> So, let's get on with it, shall we?  
> Good reading!

“I immediately regret this decision.” Jisung ruffled as he stared at his hands, messing with the fluffy fabric which was _supposedly_ made to be around his neck. “I am not using those.”

Changbin stopped analyzing the number of different tones of green – he didn’t even know existed, by the way, – twisting his nose as he set his narrowed eyes on the hideous piece of clothing. “You are right, we are not.”

Chan sighed, mentally cursing himself for bringing both here, and locked eyes with the boys. He realized he should have chosen their _stupid_ clothing for their _stupid_ plan on his own, even though he wasn’t a fan of it. “Of course, we are not, a Tudor collar is outdated _._ You’d only wear such thing if you wanted to call attention, which we do _not_.” He tried to explain, snatching the fabric from the youngest hands and putting it back on its place.

_Why did he agree on that in the first place?_

After that fateful night and a few days of thinking it through, all three of them decided to have another meeting so they could discuss the subject.

Jisung, clearly, was looking forward to it. On his mind, it seemed like an easy plan, – Get in the castle, stall some idiots of nobles while getting their food right down their noses, and get out unrecognized. – and most likely their best one yet, too, one which would keep their stomach full until _hell_ was over. 

He was already biased as it looked almost effortless in his eyes, all odds pointing to their success. He was a pro in stealing, thank goodness for that; A masquerade would _cover_ their faces, making them almost unrecognizable; And Chan was able to catch the attention of the _whole_ room by just opening his mouth. He was the perfect distraction, seeing the dark-haired boy could make anyone fall in love with him and pay attention to his words even if he were talking about the most random things, for example, stars.

If he could, he would have set that plan in stone, so they all were obligated to comply. 

To be honest, though, Changbin wasn’t as much excited. He seemed to be completely unbothered by the situation, but nobody but him knew how hard he felt his insides twist by just _discussing_ such a trivial scheme, not really knowing if that was a good sign or not. Something _deep_ within him wasn’t so sure, although he decided to ignore it since it was their best option to survive this. 

He was unemployed, Jisung couldn’t steal from the snow in the streets (the only thing out in the open these days), and they couldn’t just rely on Chan like _that_. It wasn’t fair to him, nor it was a safe plan. 

And the only hunter in the room? Well, first, he was immediately against it. The next morning after the noble had left, he made a whole speech about how dangerous it could be for them to go out in there like it was nothing and just try to stealthe _royal’s_ party like it was a child’s play. It looked _absolutely_ insane, and if badly executed, it could cost their heads.

However, following sleepless nights and countless debates with himself, as he was building arrows in the moonlight and comfort of his room, it hit him. That was, actually, their _only_ choice.

He hadn’t told the boys yet because he didn’t want to worry them, but his hunts were getting more and more difficult as time passed. He would get up early and arrive home late trying to find something, _anything_ , to put in their table at night, but none of his efforts seemed to work. It wasn’t much of his fault, since _obviously_ , animals wouldn’t be running around with the possibility to get frozen to death, but it still made his mind go to the darkest places.

What if, after missing the chance to get such easy food, his hunts got _impossible?_ They were handling it well with tiny birds and natural ingredients, but for how long would that last? It wasn’t a question any of them could answer.

So, after a while, he realized it would be dumb of them to not take that chance and decided to reunite everyone on their kitchen table to think through every-single-step of it. If they were doing this, they needed to do it _right_. 

I mean, they would die either way at the end of the day, so why not die in a _luxurious_ palace in a sword’s hands and not an old house, because of starvation? If they were alive after it, it would be a win, and they would last long enough so they could get back to their feet again.

For their luck, one of the best merchants of the town owned Jisung a favor after he stole some of her precious garments back to her. She cried as soon as she saw the expensive pieces on his hand, thanking her life out of it, the only problem being he was, in fact, the one who organized the crime in the first place. But why tell her, right _?_

And there they were, hours away from the event, choosing the appropriate clothing they would be using in that suicide mission. And, possibly, in their funeral. 

Black should be the color to go, then.

“And this, do we have to use _this_?” Jisung questioned arching his eyebrows, holding a white ruffle shirt in between two of his fingers. That was… something else.

“I’m afraid so.” Chan was as disgusted as the younger one, trying to keep a smile on his face for the sake of their positivity. I mean, he was falling to do so, but still, he was trying. “Royals tend to use it according to a friend of mine.”

“Yikes.”

“Right.” Changbin rolled his eyes, not liking to imagine himself as a very specific type of dog breed he didn’t know the name of. “Who is this friend anyway and why does they have such a bad taste?” 

Chan chuckled, slightly nervous. “Someone who knows what he is talking about.”

“I know it seems awful, but we can do this, guys.” The youngest changed the subject, ignoring Chan’s discomfort as he was letting go of the questionable shirt and clenching his fist high. “The hardest part is over. Fighting!”

It was clear as ice the trickiest part of it all was getting in, but after Minho’s _collaboration_ , such a thing wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Jisung thought about the orange-headed noble and sighed lightly as he remembered the fun time he had with the boy at his house. Having him there was, at first, a bit weird seeing as he was a stranger and on top of that, upper class, but he proved himself to be much more than that throughout the evening. He was actually pretty damn funny, with a sharp sense of humor and a comforting aura that surrounded his form every time he smiled.

He grinned to himself thinking about the happiness he exhaled in their presence. It was so welcoming and _heartwarming_ that the thief couldn’t contain a smile, feeling his heart share it with him as it beat a little faster. 

Honestly, he silently hoped they would stumble upon each other in the ball. It held indeed a considerable amount of part on his decision to go into the castle like _that_ (not beating his will to survive, though), but he knew chances of it happening were little. A lot of people, masks, and a big place? Meeting someone purposely was even _possible_ with all of that?

Another question that seemed to be lingering on his mind was whyMinho had forgotten those invitations in the first place. Such a big event for all nobility and he just leftit there, like it meant nothing to him? Was he even going to be there after all?

 _Maybe he wanted to meet up with him again._ A small voice in his head whispered, but he brushed it off as quickly as he could. No, he couldn’t believe that. It was probably a mistake on his part.

Of course, he did not mention how the previous visitor had made a _weird_ effect on him to his brothers because it wasn’t that big of a deal. He was completely fine at the end of the day (even though his mind randomly replayed Minho’s giggle out of nowhere sometimes), hence, his lack of concern regarding telling them.

Also, their mission wasn’t about his and Minho’s reconciliation. As much as a little part of him _wanted_ it to be, it was not their final goal and he had to keep that in mind in order to make it work.

The side effects he had after their meeting were, in his eyes, almost normal. Making friends seemed to be usual to some people, however, it wasn’t that much common for them. Between their jobs, reputation, and disinterest, “buddies” weren’t exactly their priority, so, it was only understandable for his palms to sweat that much.

 _Wait,_ his palms were sweating just by thinking about him?

It didn’t take long for them to choose simple outfits that seemed formal enough to get through the ball without standing out. It all looked extremely expensive, so they took pairs of pants that fitted them perfectly and were slightly puffed, the cheapest belts they could find, used boots, and different types of weird-looking blouses so they wouldn’t be mistaken as triplets. 

“Oh, _hell_ no.” Changbin grabbed one mask down the aisle, staring at its form without forming any comprehensible sentences. It was, truly, one of the creepiest things he had ever seen in his life, beating even the previous shirts they had got minutes ago. 

The mask covered all parts of a face but one’s mouth. It had a golden stripe at the top, and the rest was covered in a dirty white, with debatable forms on its content. There were not one, not two, but _three_ noses and each eye was part of its one mask as if three different people were looking at the left, the front, and the right of the room in only _one_ garment. 

Everyone was speechless, opening and closing their mouths as their brains tried to comprehend that shape. Laughing even went through their minds but it was just so dreadful they couldn’t even react properly.

“Come again?” Chan blinked, brushing his eye in a failed attempt to take it out. 

“Well, so we discovered today the prince _clearly_ has no taste,” Jisung stated, cleaning his throat as his own eyes ran away from the object and tried to search for a better one. 

“Why masks, anyway?”

The smallest of them snorted. “Go in there without one and try to steal the place, you idiot.” It took him a while to realize who he was talking to. “I mean, Hyung.”

He received a death stare from the older boy as he tried to focus on another mask, expecting to get complained at. “I know, Binnie, but a masquerade ball? _Really_? Out of all kinds of celebrations, this was the one he chose to do?”

“Told you, he must be as dumb as his father at this point. Look at this.” Jisung held now a mask which was extremely colorful and had a long and pointy bird-like spout on the nose part. “You can’t even drink in this shit.”

Giggling filled the room as they continued to judge and analyze each piece, putting their playfulness aside after a while so they could focus on choosing the right ones. They couldn’t be recognized by any means, so they tried their best to pick the perfect masks to suit their problems.

They got home, folding their new pairs of outfits and heading to the shower as soon as they stepped their foot on their place. The ball was already tomorrow, hence their concern on preparing everything up briefly so they could review the plan before sleeping.

As if they could, though.

It was no joke how nervous they felt as they debated, seeing Chan’s legs bounce, Changbin’s hands playing with one another and Jisung’s lips get bitten every time they mentioned guards or nobles in general. Tomorrow they would be testing all skills they had, such as charisma, _acting_ , and dancing, which they were not even 100% sure about them in the first place. 

So, although they were supposed to have a good night of sleep, none of them could drift away from their worries even in the comfort of their bed.

As the only sound that could be heard on Jisung’s room was Lino’s purrs, he hugged his pillow tightly as he faced the ceiling, letting his thoughts go anywhere they would like. He had no intention of stopping them in the first place, seeing it could help him afterward. 

All possible scenarios played in a loop on his mind, and in all of them, the situation they were in changed within _seconds_. One wrong move and they were done.

Somehow, as it seemed to have sensed how bad his insides were twirling, his cat got closer to his chest and rested his little head on his stomach, making his purrs resonate through him and calm him down. Jisung closed his eyes as he let Lino’s soothing presence take over his form and dup all his previous worries in the nearest trash from them.

Minutes later, as he was about to finally go to sleep, he heard a soft knock on his door. _“Sungie, are you awake?”_ Changbin whispered, trying his hardest not to disturb his little brother.

He might have constructed his image as an unbothered guy, but deep down, he was as scared and insecure as they were. He needed to check in on them, too, to be sure both his brothers were in a nice mindset so he could finally adjust _his_ and go to sleep.

First, he decided to check in on the youngest of them all. He was his Hyung, after all.

“Yes, Binnie?” Jisung sat upon his bed, whispering back in a raspy voice and scratching his eyes since it was adjusting to the light that wasn’t there before. “Are you okay?”

He licked his lips, unsure if it was the right call to worry him like that. _He should just go back to his room._

“I-” He tried to find the right words whilst breathing in, but he just couldn’t. He had to be honest. “No, I’m a bit worried, in fact.” He looked down, tightening his grip on the door handle.

The younger patted the seat next to him, putting Lino onto his lap and inviting his brother in.

He didn’t think twice before taking up on his offer and pushing the door back to the place that was before, letting one strait of light illuminate the room so he could make his way to the bed. He sighed once again, “How are you doing?”

“Not much different than you, Hyung. The only reason I was about to sleep was because of Lino here.” He chuckled, petting its adorable form.

Silence started to take over the room as both seemed to get into deep thought together. Almost crickets could be heard as their minds tried to betray them for the fifth time today from their goal to tomorrow. Staying sane.

“What if we don’t make it?” Changbin let out, feeling his chest to tighten by just imagining that scenario. “What if we get caught?”

Jisung locked eyes with him, in the middle of the dark, as he put his hands on his brother’s shoulder. He couldn’t admit how many times he had imagined that situation happening with for the most different reasons himself.

He wanted to tell him they would be fine, that everything would go well, but he didn’t _know_ it. How could he make such a promise, if his hands weren’t the ones who could keep it?

However, as he was about to speak, the older one raised his hands to stop him from talking. 

“I know I shouldn’t concern you more, Ji. I’m older than you, I _shouldn’t_ be doing this to you.” He confessed, even though he was cursing himself for it. “But I can’t help but wonder what will happen to us… and Chan already has a lot on his mind. He is the one who is keeping us _alive_ , for god’s sake.” He spoke as if he was disgusted with himself, staring at his hands with the vainest look he had ever seen. “And I can’t do nothing but sabotage our mindset one day before this mission.”

He looked at the floor as he listened, biting his lip. “Hyung, it’s okay.” He brought his attention back to him, as he squeezed his shoulders and locked eyes again. “There’s nothing we can do but try our best tomorrow. I can’t tell you what will happen because, unfortunately, I can’t predict the future yet,” He chuckled in an attempt to lighten up the mood, “but I know that _together_ we can do anything we put our minds to.” And assured, smiling at him.

Changbin would never admit it on his presence, but Jisung was one of the best brothers he could’ve asked for.

“We have our outfits ready, Chan’s plan, and each other. We don’t need anything more, okay? It will work if we all trust in ourselves.”

He nodded, letting the youngest’s words sink in deep on his soul. He realized he needed to pull himself back together, not only for his sanity but for all their sake. 

They were a team, they depended on him as much as he depended on them. 

“Okay.” He whispered back, letting a smile appear for the first time of the night. It wasn’t wise to keep the conversation going, especially because it was already late enough.

As they were about to hum good nights, Chan also knocked on his door and came in, saying he heard voices from the kitchen. “Let’s eat something before the big day, yeah?” He smiled, trying to get their mood up again. 

They didn’t know, but the oldest had listened to part of their conversation from the other side of the door with the saddest smile yet. It hit him again, just like it did with Changbin, how much he needed to make it work and how much he had to stay focused to take care of his family.

They all nodded, getting up and staying awake for a few minutes so they would chat and eat a small portion of the leftovers. They let their mind relax a bit as they complained about Jisung’s terrible bread, seeing he was the one who tried to make them last time and tried to keep up with the positive energy that now filled the house. 

“Hm,” Changbin chewed his food as he looked at them, “Did you hear about the rebels?”

Chan arched his eyebrow. “What about the rebels?”

“Apparently, rumor has they’ve been planning something against the king. Not sure what, though.”

Jisung’s nose twitched as he stared at the smallest in complete confusion, stopping his hand from bringing the bread onto his mouth. “Hold up, what rebels?”

“Oh, you didn’t hear?” He shook his head as Chan continued speaking. “Some people from downtown have been extremely unhappy with your _majesty_ ever since they discovered about the ball. Most of them are jobless and hungry and he is out there spending money _partying_ , you know?”

He nodded, taking a bite of his food once again. He knew that wouldn’t go well for the royalty, but honestly, he couldn’t care less. “Do we think they are planning to do something _at_ the ball?”

Both of his brothers shrugged their shoulders. 

“Well, I hope not.” Changbin answered, “It’s already risky for us to get in there without them, imagine if people tried to burn the place on top of that.”

“Changbin!”

“What, Hyung? Seriously, running from guards maybe be tough but running from guards while the building is on _fire_ or something? C’mon, we wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s not what I mean. You can’t think of it like that, you know? We have to be _confident_ in this or –”

He laughed as they continued arguing in front of him. It seemed like a small matter on his eyes, to be honest, as he believed people from his town wouldn’t be able to do something like this. “Okay, boys. Let’s go to bed, shall we?”

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, they were family. The _toughest_ one yet. They knew they could do it if they were together, or at least, they would die trying.

[…]

It was hard to put on such complicated things on their body in such a short time. From fluffy fabric to weird-looking pants, they all felt extremely out of their comfort zone tonight, and the masks didn't help, too. It felt hot in their faces half of the time, and it sure didn't help their eyesight.

In the morning, everyone was still tired, so they decided to go back to sleep once again. Day went by really fast, and in a blink of an eye, the moon showed itself as they finished up changing and preparing themselves for their big night.

To say they were stunning wasn’t fair. They looked _gorgeous_.

Even though nobles had quite a different fashion sense, in Chan’s point of view, they still managed to emphasize every part of their beauty and expand their attractiveness even hiding half of their faces and using little fabric that barely stood out.

Chan’s mask, almost a little devil-like and longer than usual, had elegant swirls surrounding his brown eyes in a light gold almost ivory color. There were particolored designs on several of the horns and part of the right cheek, the glossy colors contrasting sharply against the traditional dull elements. Curved horns went down to frame the sides of his mouth, making him look as tempting as ever.

Changbin, on the other hand, decided to go with a different one. Using a classic half mask construction, covering from his forehead to his upper lip, the striking silhouette of an elegant skull fitted perfectly with his features. His mask was the one with the most perfect eyesight, seeing half of his cranium contained comfortable and large eye sockets. He felt stunning as the not so scary element of his costume made up for his plain shirt.

Finally, Jisung went straight to the costume mask that covered his forehead, bridge of the nose, both eyebrows, one eye and its cheek below it. Distinctive details like antique bronze puzzle pieces and mechanical bits were part of it and helped to bring unwanted attention towards it and not his _actual_ face. A Mesh covered the eye, and a bar formed a kind of handle on the partial mask. 

They looked like they had been sent straight from hell, in the most intriguing way possible.

Leaving the house late, of course, they kept their invitations on their pockets and took their ripped old cloaks from the wardrobe in a hurry, silently moving quickly in the middle of the town and in the direction of the castle.

The streets, like always, seemed empty and cold, so they were lucky to go on their way with little chance of getting caught.

After much fast walking for Jisung’s taste, his breathless form soundlessly punched the boys before him, asking for a minute to catch his breath and hold his anxiety inside. He could see the tip of the castle from there, behind long and vivid trees in the contrast of the night, and he didn’t like it one bit.

“I don’t think this is such a good idea anymore.”

Chan and Changbin immediately stopped discussing their surroundings as both arched their brows to the younger one.

“ _Yahhh_! You must be kidding me.” The skull-like form let out, a concerning amount of rage filling his eyes. He was never scared of him, unless he was as angry looking as he was now.

“Jisung.” It was the only thing Chan said, in the most demanding voice possible, alarming the youngest about their feelings in advance. “You are just freaking out; we _can_ do this.”

For one second, he considered arguing. Stopping everything, right there, and taking what he once said back so they could just go home and sleep.

However, as he was about to speak, Changbin’s mask seemed to dare him to say another word, so he just decided to gulp down and suck it up.

So, they picked up their pace again toward the palace, each step taking a little piece of their minds away. They were just so anxious it couldn't be helped at that point.

Getting close to their destination made them feel worse than expected, to be honest. When they were able to see clearly their destination, they hid in a bush right close to the construction, seeing all different kinds of people enter in the most lighting mood possible, and it was almost immediate for their insides start to twist.

He gulped down hard as he stared at his brothers, all shaking from head to toe after analyzing the outside of the huge castle and the amount of guards on its extension.

It was far bigger than they ever could have expected it to be. It was most certainly old judging by the state of the rocks, but still, it was _luxurious,_ and It stood there as if summoned right from their imagination. The once smooth stones and its shapes called their attention, being each different from the other, and some even were covered by a fantastic kind of vivid fabric that decorated the outside of it all.

And the people? As late as them, but still, _stunning_. Jisung always knew nobles had privileges and piles of money, but he didn’t know they were _that_ rich until he saw a woman wearing silk on every part of her body, including her colourful mask. He analyzed their outfits, comparing them to theirs, and realized what he once thought was an expensive clothing might actually be the _cheapest_ one inside of the damn building.

“ _Wow,_ I think I'm about to throw up.” Changbin let out, licking his lips as he felt sick to his stomach. His eyes didn’t leave the building, nor the unease left his body as he stared at it hoping the strength of his gaze was enough to make it fall. “Are we actually doing this?”

It took a while for them to answer back, both amazed by their sight. “I guess so.”

“I mean… I think we are.”

“Okay then.” He answered back, adjusting his outfits to what he seemed to be a long night. _“Let’s eat the rich.”_

_"Wait, what? Have you gone mad? We are not here to eat anyon—_ Oi! that hurt!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost 1k of hits, and over 60 kudos, Oh, my, god.  
> I was not expecting that much of attention when I first started to write it. I'm amazed with all the love you've been showing me so far, so thank you so much for reading it and taking your time to comment. You all are amazing. <3  
> Well, this was a really hard chapter to write, so, I hope you liked it! We will see how this is going to go, haha. if you'd like to share your thoughts, go ahead. I love to read them.  
> Good night, everyone, see you next week. :]


	7. Chapter VII: My loyalty goes to you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ball began. Chan's little secret is discovered by 3RACHA, and Jisung can't help but feel like he made a mistake, while Minho struggles to get through the event and makes a new connection along the way. Felix meets a few people, but are they going to be his friends? or not? We will see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!  
> I hope you remember me. O.o  
> I'm sorry for taking this long to update, school is making me go crazy, but here we go! The first part of the ball is finally here.  
> I won't keep you much longer, so please, enjoy the chapter.  
> Good reading.

Imagine an Introvert’s worst nightmare.

Now, Intensify it.

The castle had never been so full of people before. The setting was gracious; The place smelled so strongly identical to a bottle of wine you could almost taste it, and the expensive perfumes showed themselves present as you walked by. Some sort of instrumental music was playing in the background, but it could barely be audible as people’s chatter seemed to get higher.

Decoration wise, the queen had not failed them this time. Every corner of the place was incredibly decorated with graceful ornaments falling down the enormous windows or shiny fabric upon the tables. The curtains seemed brand new, the furniture was moved at least 5 fives this week, and not even a speck of single dust could be seen by the human eye, which was well-perceived by the guests.

Someone who didn’t like interacting much though would most certainly cry at the sight. Sweaty people twirling to somewhat loud noises coming from both instruments and others’ mouths wasn’t the greatest vision to see when you could just stay home and do something of your liking.

Even though partying wasn’t something unusual within those walls, that was by far the most important event they have ever held place. Silence couldn’t be heard anywhere.

On one side of the room, though, the three musketeers tried to maintain their calm as they had just mumbled their way through the guards inside of the castle. After they were asked for their invitations, silently analyzed by the securities, and had to make up the farthest kingdom they could, they were able to come in and explore the place until the grand meal.

They walked side by side while the oldest checked in on them, trying their hardest to stay away from the other guests when the silence in between them was broken. He noticed how nervously they scratched their arms, looking around, and bit their lip while facing the floor, so it was only understandable the parenting gut he felt to start a conversation.

“Kingdom D9? Interesting name, Changbin.” Chan questioned, slightly impressed with the speed he had come up with it. “Questionable, but yeah.” 

Changbin smirked, proud of how his acting was developing so far and brought his eyes back to Chan’s. “I know. They will take a long time to find it on the map, though.”

“I mean, you could have thought of something better.”

"I could have, but this is much better for our kingdom, don't you think?'

Jisung stopped facing the floor and stared at them. He licked his lips, unsure of what to say as his stomach twirled at the sight of them talking about their _unreal_ town with such ease, and couldn’t even _whisper_ for the life of them. If they kept that up, they would be caught in no time. _“Have y’all ever heard of the concept of sneaking? Because this is not how it’s done.”_

“Jisungie, we are just talking, no one is hearing us don’t worry.”

“And we are not- _sneaking_ , okay? Shut up. We were invited.” The smallest answered, trying to compose himself. He looked around once more, making sure their identities were hidden in between this amount of rich and dumb people.

“By whom, Binnie-Hyung?” He retorted, intrigued by his reply. He could feel one of his veins popping from his forehead in complete anxiety. “ _Who in their **right mind** would invite us to this kind of shit?!_”

Chan noticed he had started to raise his voice. The youngest’s body seemed to get tenser as time passed showing clear discomfort. That alone wasn’t only a good sign, but it could also affect the outcome of this mission, so he decided to calm him down. “Jisung, be careful with your tone. We are in this together, okay? We have to keep a low profile and you know it.” He smiled, putting a hand on his shoulders.

“I know, Chan-Hyung. I’m sorry, it wasn’t my intention to shout.”

Changbin arched his brows, deciding to give in on his brother’s retorts. Bickering playfully wasn’t a good thing to do right now, especially in such a huge situation, and he realized that. “Dongsaeng, whispering exists and it is a bloody important thing when it comes to sneaking in.”

“Aha!” He instantly turned his attention to the older one. “You admitted we are sneaking in.”

He let a small laugher out his lips. “That’s the thing you were worried about?”

“No, actually, I just wanted you both to at least speak a lower tone too. I’m sure people from the other side of the room could hear you.”

“Okay.” Chan brought their attention back to reality, stopping on their tracks on the corner of the room while adjusting his mask. It was too hot on his face. “So, let’s think our plan through once more. As they are royals, they will most likely give some sort of speech, yeah?” He spoke softly, occasionally locking with both of their eyes to make sure they had a full understanding of the situation. “So, we will use that time to get into the kitchen. I will cause some sort of distraction and attract the servants there while you both put everything into a random tablecloth, then we run to the back exit and meet up on the front. Any questions?”

Jisung gulped, “What if they don’t give a speech?”

It was impossible to hold his mind back from asking such a thing, and it rolled out of his tongue before he could stop it. He didn’t want to worry his brothers, but again, all possible scenarios had to be thought out or they were doomed.

“Unlikely,” Chan answered quickly. “They always do this. I’ve asked to that friend of mine, so I’m 100% sure they will.”

“And do we know for sure all of these people will be paying attention?” Changbin questioned, playing with his fingers.

Chan shook his head and licked his bottom lip. “Not really. But this is the best chance we’ve got.”

They couldn’t see each others’ expressions very well due to their masks, but they were sure all were extremely serious. Both nodded slowly, mentally preparing themselves for the 10th time today. “And what do we do now, Hyung?”

“We keep a low profile, and avoid talking to other people, I guess.”

Chan breathed out, uneasiness taking control of his feet. He started to distance himself without stopping from facing them, heading to the table backward. “Jisung is right, Binnie. Let’s go get a drink or something and interact the least we can. It shouldn’t be a problem-” 

The boys tried to warn him, but it was already too late. He bumped into another person, who seemed to have spilled a bit of his drink on the floor, and almost fell forward onto his brothers. Great way to start.

-

On the other side of the room, Minho looked as tired as ever. For someone who was celebrating their own birthday, he sure didn’t look like it, seeing his anxious form looked around for a savior to take him out of there every second that passed. If anyone in there knew him enough, it was obvious behind his fake smiles and glances of desperation that this was the last place he wanted to be at.

Everything seemed wrong on his eyes. To the food that was chosen thoughtfully to the guests who were invited, from the table full of gifts to their prince, nothing seemed to have pleased him in any way so it would distract him enough from the reality.

Don’t get me wrong, his mother had done an incredible job and he recognized that. He truly did. However, when you already have your mind made about a certain subject, it is almost impossible to change it just because the thematic was _cute,_ and he hated that event to his bones.

The Queen seemed comfortable as she drank a little bit of wine and chatted with her friends after introducing their daughters to him, exchanging smiles and compliments to all of them.

That also didn’t help to get his mood up. He was forced to interact politely with all 10 women he had met, and counting, because of the simple fact one of them could be his future wife. He met blondes, brunets, gingers, tall girls, short girls.. all types and forms ha already walked through his door expecting to be the chosen one.

He didn’t want that, and he tried to make it clear for his family, but of course, once again his opinions didn’t matter when it came down to talking about his future. He introduced himself with a grin and a handshake, but he truly just wanted to send them all home in their own way with a bit of pie in their hands so they wouldn't be so disappointed they had wasted that much time.

Hyunjin and Seungmin also got his side at one point, and the atmosphere seemed to instantly shift as they approached and shared some goofy remarks to the conversation. They silently nodded to each other showing him support, and his posture got better when the invisible weight that was on his shoulders got lighter.

In between their chatting, though, he started to feel a pinch of physical discomfort on his body that grew worse in a matter of seconds and used that to excuse himself to go to the restroom.

With each step he took towards his destination, he could feel the burning sensation of his back getting worst, and he was _sure_ it was nothing like the others. Imagine a dragon spitting fire from its mouth directly at your skin, the hot heat making its way through your spinal cord, and leaving a tray of vertical boiling lines on it.

That was what he was feeling.

After going up the stairs and getting to the second floor, he took a minute to breathe and put his weight on the sink while he stared at his image in the mirror. He hated what he was seeing.

Not his white damask doublet, or his stunning mask, no. He hated to look so _weak._

He took off his upper piece of clothing and turned on the sink faucet harshly, wetting his hand and letting water drops fall on his back, like it was a light rain, in a failed attempt to making his pain go away. He closed his eyes, embracing the cold feeling, even though it wasn’t that much of some help.

He considered locking the door and staying there for the rest of the night, alone with his own thoughts, waiting for the suffering to stop on its own. However, destiny seemed to want otherwise, ad he heard a soft knock on the door.

He didn’t answer, hoping the person would just go away, but they were quite persistent. As he was about to speak and say not very nice things to the inconvenient one, he heard whose voice was it.

“ _Hyung?_ ” It was Jeongin’s whisper. “I know you are in there, my brother sent me here to check up on you.”

He grinned, letting out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in the first place. It was good to see how caring both of their cousins were. “Wait a bit.” He softly spoke before he tried to dry himself with his towel.

When he finally put his clothing back and the golden pieces with it, he opened the door and faced the younger one’s pleading eyes, feeling his own go soft as he looked at him. “Yes, Innie?”

He smiled back to his Hyung, seeing he was intact. “Oh, thank god! I was worried.”

“As you can see, I’m okay. I just needed some time away from all those people.”

He nodded, still grinning in relief. “I understand, Hyung, but don’t do that again! Sungie-Hyung almost went crazy, and me too.”

When he tried to laugh at his remark, the pitch of pain went right back at him and it was impossible to refrain his features from shifting in pure discomfort. Jeongin's expression dropped in a second and he almost instantly got closer to him, holding his shoulder to keep him up. “Hyung! Are you sure you are okay?”

He tried to mumble a yes, but at this point, who would believe him. “I…” He looked up deep in thought, mouth hanging in the air. “I fell from a horse, on my back. That’s why it’s hurting.”

If he was feeling terrible about himself before, now, he was his biggest enemy. How could he lie to his family, and the youngest, like that? Even though he just wanted to protect him, – which, if you ask me, or anyone for that matter, was quite a stupid of him, – lying wasn’t the best way to deal with it all and he acknowledged that. However, by the end of the day, in his eyes, it was the best option to keep not only his mind safe but his body too. He couldn't help but wonder what would the King do if he knew his actions were known by others. _How would he react? What would he do to his cousin?_

He panicked, putting one of his hands on his forehead. Was he checking his temperature? “Oh, good lord, Hyung! Are you _insane_? You must go to the physician!”

“No.” It came out harsher than he expected, without any second thoughts. “Don’t worry, Innie. I’ve already been there once, and he told me to take some medicine.”

“So, why aren’t you taking it?”

“Because-” He tried to think of something, but really, a horse ride had nothing to do with the situation. He bit his lip while looking up, before trying to explain himself. “The pain comes and goes. It happened a while ago, but it affects me now and then. I wasn’t anticipating it.”

Great. That went better than expected.

 _“Right,”_ Jeongin answered, almost as a whisper. If he didn’t believe him, he couldn’t tell, but to be honest not even himself would take his word for granted. “So, let’s get that medicine, alright?”

He nodded, putting his weight back entirely on both feet and closing the door. His nerves seemed to calm down as they went side by side on their way, changing the subject to the party downstairs.

Although his body was right beside his loved cousin, his mind was elsewhere. It was on the nobility that filled his house. It was on the back pain that wouldn’t go away. And, of course, it was on the cause of it.

His father.

After he had caused him so much trouble, there he was, on his birthday, pretending as if he gave a damn about him and his feelings. He tried to move on from the torment that dreadful soul had caused on his life like he did many times before, but after the consequence of his (not too secret) getaway, he just couldn’t.

The sadness he once felt from having such a crappy father who he shared the house with turned into undying anger, and the tears he had spilled before were now dry and impossible to form again. He could deal with the fact he was beaten, hurt, cut, but he couldn’t deal with the fact he did the same thing to his town, but in a different way. Good families, like Jisung’s, were struggling to get through a _season,_ and he was throwing parties and building facades to satisfy the upper class. At first, He didn’t understand how the nice guy he had met _hated_ them so much, but now, he does.

“Your highness?” He heard a voice call him from behind, stopping them on their tracks as Jeongin was previously trying to cheer him up while he was rambling about the quality of the food he had tasted.

He blinked, holding his hand high to stop his cousin from speaking, and looked back at one of the guards that were calling for him. “Yes, Choi Yeonjun?” He asked, smiling to him as he recognized one of his brothers’ favorite guards.

He hadn’t interacted with him that much, but he had heard only good things regarding his character, so he sympathized with him easily. He often helped Felix when the younger struggled to get something high, and usually accompanied him out of the castle when Soobin couldn't do it. Hyunjin and him, too, once spent at least one-hour discussing silly subjects when the prince wanted to speak to him and he was in a meeting. So, talking to him properly for the first time was actually a good surprise. 

The Knight bowed, making noise as the metal on his body friction one another. “If you are not busy, I would like to speak with you, your highness.”

“Call me Hyung, please.”

He frowned his eyebrows since he wasn’t expecting such a thing from the next in line as King. Maybe it was because he had never talked to him before, but that only sentence made him question the image he had of the prince in front of him. He let out a tiny smile as he stuttered, “Huh- Right. Minho-Hyung, could I speak to you?”

Minho nodded and turned back to his cousin’s worrying form. Before he could speak to him, though, the youngest opened his month and rolled out fast words of his tongue. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes, your highness, but this is an important and private issue.”

Jeongin put his lips together and smiled lightly, bowing his head before looking at Minho. “It’s okay, Hyung. I’ll go get your medicine with the physician; he must have written it down before.”

The prince thanked him as he watched the younger disappear within those hallways, bringing his full attention to his servant. “Go on, Yeonjun.”

He looked nervous and unsure about how to start. Minho didn’t know if it had anything to do with the subject, or it was just normal, seeing he was talking to the oldest of the princes, but something didn’t feel right. Maybe he was afraid of his reaction? “It’s okay, you can speak to me freely.”

Yeonjun smiled once again, bowing out of nervousness. The reassurance he got was enough for his mouth to allow itself to open up. “Your- Minho-Hyung, I… I’ve heard about your getaway and I can imagine the punishment you got from it.” He let out, honestly and straight to the point. Pushing it any longer would only harm. “I’m sad to hear what I did, regarding this subject.”

He instantly froze and his muscles got a little tenser, pain spreading a little more due to the pressure. His expression changed, a little worried and hut. _Why was he mentioning it at all?_ “Oh.” It was the only thing he could say.

“So, my prince, I just wanted to let you know that as head of the guards I have decided to be responsible for your safety and privacy from now on. Your previous guard has changed tasks, and I thought I was the perfect option to take over his job.”

He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and internally smiled. Probably, the previous knight was responsible for giving out his information. “Hum- Thank you, Yeonjun.”

As he grinned happily to the prince’s response, he looked around before facing the floor and playing with his fingers that were behind his body. “With that said, my prince, I would like to guarantee you my loyalty goes to you, the next King. If someday, you try to visit your kingdom once again, I will respect your privacy and only act as you wish.”

Minho winded his eyes, letting his lungs get filled with fresh air as he studied the news. From what he understood, if he trusted the knight’s word, now he able to explore his town and visit it as he wanted and that be kept as secret. He could see Jisung again. “I- I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ll accompany you, though. I can’t let my king run around vulnerably like that.”

He smiled from ear to ear, happy to see how thoughtful and generous Yeonjun was. He truly was everything Minho had heard before. “Thank you so much!” 

He tried to contain himself, but when he realized what he had done, he was already hugging the taller form as he squeezed his eyes shut. “I appreciate your kind thoughts to my situation and I’m very happy to hear you have taken over this job as my protector.”

He was surprised to feel the prince’s embrace on his form, especially because he was tiny compared to him, but as his eyes got less winded and his muscles relaxed, he quickly hugged him back. “I trust your judgment, Minho-Hyung. I hope you trust me too.”

-

 _“Shit,”_ Felix exclaimed, cleaning his clothing with a napkin in hands. He turned his body to the direction of the person who had bumped into him, frowning his eyebrows and inhaling deeply, extremely bothered by the situation. “Mate, you have got to be careful next time.”

He was surprised by the sight of three guys silently observing him. They blinked as if they weren’t sure about what was happening, and no one said anything, probably too shocked to even open their mouths. They just stared at each other for what it felt like years when he decided to speak up. 

“Okay… I’m prince Lee Felix, Nice to meet you.” He bowed, trying to relieve the tension in the room. “Well, I think you’ve ruined my outfit.” He cracked a smile after the silence he got, a failed attempt to sound charismatic, as the wine he was once drinking now was part of his clothes.

To be honest, he didn’t even know where that came from. He wasn’t mad or anything, since those things could happen to anyone, but the guy didn’t even apologize for it? What kind of manners was those?

It was obvious the others wanted him to speak up as well since both stared at the shocking form in the angriest way Felix was ever stared at, but something seemed to hold him back. The prince didn’t know what it could be, he didn’t even know the guy, but It seemed like his brain was working for something else as his eyes stared at his soul as they spoke.

Well, Felix spoke.

Now, analyzing the stranger’s orbs properly, something within him warned that those weren’t unknown. His gut told him he had seen those eyes before, somewhere, and that feeling made his curiosity rise to the point his eyebrows arched. _Weird._

“Channie-Hyung?” He asked, squinting his own eyes. He wasn’t expecting Chan to be here, so it was only understandable his confusion to see his form if the stranger was indeed him. Bangchan was one of the kindest souls he had ever met, smile as big as the sun and heart as full as the sea. He was an extremely skilled archer who once found him lost in the woods, and after that day, they exchanged sweet words and he begged him to teach how to use his bow correctly.

He was eternally grateful to him. His company made him feel safe, especially after he was the one who made him find his way home, and the one who ignited his passion for using such a weapon.

It was almost like he was discovered to be a time bomb they wanted to get away from, because as soon as he called out his name – or what he thought it was his name –, both boys got into some sort of panic mode as they threw themselves in front of him and mumble any words to his way.

“He… He is sorry!” The smallest, and the one with cutest lips if Felix might add, guaranteed, as he weakly smiled his way.

“Ignore him, your majesty! I mean your- your- what’s the thing…” The one with the mechanical mask spoke in between stutters, “Your highness! Yes!”

He snorted, showing his teeth in a smile ear to ear. “It’s alright. May I ask your name? Is he CB97-Hyung?”

“No, no, no!” The person he didn’t know to be Jisung, panicked to hear his friend’s name. If he wasn't liking the situation before, he forgot all about it and focused on keeping their identities hidden. “His name is _C-Christopher_!”

Unfortunately, to the prince’s lack of luck, he didn’t know “Christopher” was a part of Chan’s full name. Still, how could he know if no one ever told him so?

He sighed, a little disappointed. He wanted to see one of his best friends here, for sure, but he knew he could only be dreaming, seeing he was not allowed to participate in such activities because he wasn’t a noble. He even tried stealing an invitation for him, plans ruined after some of those mysteriously disappeared and the queen decided to send them right away. “My apologies. His eyes reminded me of someone.”

“Haha,” The skull-like form laughed awkwardly, “It’s okay… Well, I guess you can call me SpearB, your highness.”

He arched his brow, locking eyes with him and bringing their hands together in a handshake. “Sure, why won't you tell me your real name though?”

They analyzed each other’s visible features for a while, sharing a smirk in between their greeting, without taking their eyes off one another. The guy’s messy hair and short-form were incredibly adorable on the prince’s point of view, and the piercing eyes that were staring him back were one of the most attractive features he had ever seen. “Actually–“

“And I’m _J.one!_ ” The other introduced himself, awkwardly laughing as he interrupted their little moment. His eyes said otherwise, anger filling them as he spoke. “Nice names, aren’t they.”

“Good to know.” The prince shifted his attention to him, reminding himself about the stain which didn’t leave his body. He didn't notice the look he got and bowed again, a sign he was about to leave, “Well, it was nice meeting you all, Hyungs, but I’ve got to change my clothing thanks to your friend.”

The poor Christopher looked horrified as he spoke, but he cleared the air as he explained his joke. “It’s okay, Chris,” He reassured, “These things happen all the time.”

The stranger, or what he thought he was, smiled without showing his teeth and bowed back to him, watched as he went his way.

Well, after the youngest of the princes excused himself and made his way to his chambers, the three of them waited until his form disappeared from the room and Changbin immediately hit Chan on his arm. “Hyung, you knew a noble – no, a _prince_ , and didn’t think it was worth mentioning?!”

Chan was almost afraid for his life as both of them stared right into his soul and went to protect his arm from Changbin’s form. If he didn’t know him, he would say he looked scary as fuck with that mask. “Okay! I know him, yes, and we meet up sometimes!” He admitted, shaking on his boots. “He asked me to help him improve his archery after I found him lost in the woods and brought him home.”

“Wait what?”

“Yeah, Binnie, you heard me. We are friends, but this place is huge! I didn’t think we would even find each other here, let alone _interact_. If he recognized me our plan would go downhill.”

"You are friends with a _prince_?! Do you hear yourself right now?" Jisung huffed, “Yeah, Hyung, it would ruin everything."

Honestly, he was bothered to see the oldest of his brothers was friends with a royal. He realized he should have seen it coming, though, since almost every night they would complain together about the royalty, and a few weeks ago, he had completely stopped when he or Changbin brought it up. He complained about the king a lot, but when it came to his entire family, he only let out a few words.

No, he was not bothered. He was _mad._

"What if he told the guards a fucking hunter is here, huh? What would we do?” He questioned him, holding his arms out. If it was possible, smoke could be seen getting out of his ears.

The silence almost took over, but it was interrupted as Chan breathed out in annoyance. “I get you are angry because you hate the royals, Jisung,” He started speaking, inhaling and squeezing his eyes shut. “and you can complain to me at home as much as you want, but we have a _bigger_ purpose here and it can wait.”

They stared at each other, as he crossed his arms and tried to choke his soul with a glance, not letting out a word. It was a silent way for him to say how much he wanted to scream at him right now, and before he could ever process a soft way to cuss at him, Changbin brought his hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “Ji, he is right. This is more important, and you can’t let that get in the way of our survival.”

As he glanced at his brother’s form and exhaled, he put a hand on his forehead, mentally trying to push his thoughts aside and keep going as planned. He knew he had a point and he couldn’t ruin their mission because of this slight issue, so he tried every kind of breathing exercise so he could keep his cool and not try to murder anyone tonight. “Alright, but don’t expect me to act lovingly to him after this _fuckin-_ this occurrence.”

“It’s enough for me,” He said, bringing his shoulders up and looking at Chan, trying to tell him through his eyes that was the most they could get right now. As he tried to comfort the oldest, it took a while for him to realize Jisung turned his back to them and started walking to the castle’s door. “Hey! Where are you going?!”

“I’m going to get some fresh air, _Hyung_." He rolled his eyes, "I’ll be back in a few, enjoy your drinks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, this is stressing. Things are not going well, huh?  
> Again, sorry for taking so long, I'm filled with tests to my neck and yesterday was my birthday, so I didn't have much time to write. In my free time, I'm usually streaming and voting for our boys.  
> By the way, I love their comeback so much! Back door is amazing, and the repackage album is insanely good. I hope they get their third win this week.  
> How did you like this chapter? any remarks? Well, there's more to come, and I hope you enjoyed it. I have a lot of ideas about Minsung's meeting and the rest of the event as well.  
> Good night, everyone. <3


	8. Chapter VIII: That’s a bummer because clearly, this flower is dying.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jisung runs to the garden but ends up meeting someone in the process, while the ball is still running, with the atmosphere tense as everyone seems to be curious at the Prince's speech. Where is he, by the way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have great news! The school will give me a break anytime now, so I'll be taking this time to write this fanfiction ahead of time. :]  
> Well, these past two weeks were filled with assignments, so I apologize once again, but things will normalize soon I promise. I don't know when, but it will.  
> Oh, and I should probably say that the ball will take place in the next chapter too, at least for the beginning of it. I hope you are okay with that.  
> I won't keep you long! Prepare your Minsung hearts because this one is... something.  
> Good reading!

He sighed as he played with the deceased rose’s petals underneath the moonlight.

He welcomed the soft sound of crickets on his ear with a soft expression, letting the breeziness of the night embrace his form and take away his uneasiness with it. His mask, that was already itching in the first place, seemed to be an obstacle to his breathing after he discovered about Chan’s secret, so, as he made his way outside of the place, he decided to take it off when he noticed no one was around.

_Chan almost screwed things up for all of them._

Facing the moon with shiny and curious eyes, he thought about how ridiculous this situation had got. He was outside of a _castle_ , for fuck’s sake, sitting on the grass, holding tightly on a lifeless flower and all this just because he was there to try and steal the nobility’s food. It seemed too crazy to be real.

He should probably stop complaining, now thinking about it. _He was already there, wasn’t he?_ Whining like this was not going to make things better for them, nor take him to his house in a white horse.

Looking back at the plant, he started to examine it piece by piece. It looked slightly dead, to be honest, thanks to the cold season they were going through. The leaves weren’t full of life as it probably was before, slightly making its way downward, and the redness of the flower seemed to be slowly fading into a darker and colder color he assumed to once have been as livid as a fire. Something within him urged to play with the rose to keep himself busy, he decided to take off its thorns with his bare hands. 

The tip of his fingers hurt as he pulled the pointy thing away from the rose’s peduncle, however, he chose to just ignore the uncomfortable feeling and get it over with it soon in hopes his brain would focus on the rose's result instead. There were not many to de-thorn, but the discomfort on his hands and the way the flower was getting _prettier_ seemed to fog his mind from swearing Chan for the 5th time today and that was a start.

He didn’t know how long had passed, nor how much blood he had lost thanks to the pointy pieces when he decided to stop what he was doing and stare at it again. It seemed… okay. 

From another person’s point of view, the pain wasn’t worth the result. On Jisung’s point of view, it wasn’t too, but at least he had done the flower a favor as the spikes wouldn’t scare people away from it any longer. If he had anything to take it off other than his hands, he would use it, because _damn_ , now it hurt like hell.

_Seriously, Winter was a nightmare even for the tiniest things._

He sighed as he thought about what would be like for the little plant to have a little bit more sun. Maybe it’s thorns wouldn’t even make a difference, seeing it was probably so beautiful with livid red petals that at the end of the day, it wouldn’t really matter.

“You are hurting yourself; you know.”

Almost instantly as his mind processed there was a voice behind him, he reached for the stinging mask and put it on the fastest way he could. He didn’t even stop to analyze whose was it, just that he needed to protect his identity at all costs. His heart was already pounding out of his mouth when the man’s voice dared to speak again, “Don’t worry, I’m not here to judge you.”

“Well, you shouldn’t be here at all.”

When _Minho_ heard his voice, his expressions that were before filled with slight worry, in a matter of seconds, turned into one of surprise at the sound of his friend’s remark. He couldn’t believe the person who was sitting there in the middle of his garden was in fact _him_ , nor the fact that he was there at all.

However, he could recognize him anywhere. 

“ _J-Jisung?_ Is that you? _”_ His mouth hung on the air as his words stumbled upon each other, not sure what to say.

The thief blinked in response, turning around quickly as his name was heard and almost promptly his expression matched the prince’s, gasping. “Minho?!”

He got up to the sight of the older’s form, letting the rose lay on the grass as he embraced him anxiously. If you’d have asked him why he had done that afterward, he wouldn’t be able to tell you, since the first thing that came into his mind when he looked at the “noble”, was the thought of holding him and talking to him again. 

They did not know anything whatsoever about their next meeting, and after a nice night like the one they had, it was impossible to deny they cared about each other even the slightest, exchanging their secrets and stories like the ones they did. Therefore, it was only understandable for them to crave physical contact, even if it lasted the bare minimum.

As their body collided, the sound of relief that came out of both boys could be heard, and the prince squeezed the life out of him progressively in complete joy. “I was so worried about you! I was afraid you had starved, or that you had frozen to death! If I could have, I would have seen you, you know, but-”

_“I can’t- I can’t breathe-”_

“Oh!” He let him go carefully, “Pardon me, Jisung-ah. I was just… excited.”

Jisung noticed the slight redness on his cheeks and laughed at it after getting oxygen back to his blood whilst he adjusted his mask. “It’s okay, Hyung, I’m happy to see you too. You don’t have to speak that fancy with me, though, my _lord_.” He joked, grinning right after.

Minho faced him with a big smile, studying his features. His presence felt so real and that was supposed to be wonderful, that was undeniable. However, as his eyes did all the work, something on his mind bothered him as it seemed… _odd_. The corner of his lips went down in a few seconds, and he furrowed his brows when the question really hit him. “I’m sorry but… what are you doing here? How did the guards let you in?”

He was young, but he wasn’t stupid.

Jisung on the other hand, stared at his soul as he tried to think of something to explain himself. He could feel his insides twist as he didn’t even remember he was in the middle of a robbery at the sight of those brown eyes, so it was only reasonable for him to gulp down and look around. “I…”

 _Okay, that was officially it,_ he thought. From all the scenarios he ran through his head, getting beheaded thanks to Minho wasn’t one of them, but that was a possibility now since he was about to find out Jisung was there to steal from his king.

“Right.” He awkwardly laughed, while looking down at the grass. He started to play with his hands as he thought about his next words carefully, but his face twitched as realized the tips of his fingers were still hurt. “So, I am here to-”

“Does it hurt?” He asked, taking the younger’s hands on his own and examining it, not letting him finish his sentence. “Do you want to go to the physician here? I told you playing with roses were going to hurt you, you might get an infection.”

“What? _No_ !” He winded his eyes, pulling his hand back. Just imagining facing that many people with a noble on his side hit his nerves, he would have to talk to so many people on the way… What if he was questioned about _his very much unreal_ kingdom? “I’m okay, Min-Hyung, don’t worry.”

“Alright then, carry on.”

“What was I talking about?” He questioned, trying to take a bit more time to think. He distanced himself, hoping to be followed as he sat down next to his flower again and looked at it. “Ah, I’m here because… because of you!” He bit his lip and looked at him in an attempt to sound more believable.

Minho tilted his head, staring at him in curiosity as he did Jisung’s same movement with his legs and sat down next to him. “Pardon?”

“You see,” He started talking, putting a smile to hide his panicked soul. “You left a bunch of invitations on our house, Hyung. We thought that was your way of inviting us, so I came to see you.” 

It wasn’t a lie. I mean, it wasn’t a _big_ lie. Don’t get me wrong, even though it was not the full truth, deep down, only God knew how much Jisung wanted to see him again, even though that was not the purpose. 

Minho, on the other hand, was stunned. To be honest, part of him questioned if that was the actual reason he was here, but the other one just kept sending more butterflies up and down his stomach and didn’t seem to care enough. _He was there._

He considered the possibility of being sick, seeing his palms started to sweat like before and breathing was a bit hard to manage. The way those round eyes with shiny orbs looked at him, _searching for_ a response didn’t help his case at all as it made him, even more, captivated him with his presence as the clock ticked.

He couldn’t believe it was a crush. He met him once, how could he make him feel things in such a short time? That was, most likely, a sign of disease – Maybe he was the one who needed a physician after all.

“Oh.” He let out, mouth still in the same “o” position after the words had rolled out of his tongue. “Are you all here… because of me?”

It pained the thief’s heart to lie like this and see the consequences of it. On his point of view, even though it was a little bit hard to see because of the mechanical mask (that he won’t ever wear again, by the way), from the little pout the noble had on to the look on his eyebrows, Minho seemed like the most angelic creature on the world, and having to lie to him was just too much. _He seemed so excited about the idea of them coming to see him..._

He nodded, biting his lip as he did so, and instead of trying to bury himself deeper on the lack of honesty, he decided to stop talking and picked up the plant on his hands again. Something about it made him drawn to it, even though it had hurt him so much. 

Minho looked at the sky, still trying to process his feelings on the whole situation. Knowing people had come all the way from downtown just to see _him_ wasn’t sitting right with his heart at all. They had their one lives to take care of, and there they were, on his _stupid_ birthday celebration. 

Of course, he wanted to see all of them again, but did he actually have to take them out of their comfort zone to do that? 

_Maybe, just maybe, they felt guilty after seeing all of those invitations and felt obligated to come._ He was sure partying wasn’t something on their routine, even less with _royals_ , who they seemed to hate so much. 

He watched as Jisung stared intensely at the petals, probably just as embarrassed as he was, and before the silence overtook the atmosphere he decided to speak up. “Did you know thornless red roses symbolize love at first sight?” He asked as he could feel his hands sweating again, trying to come up with a different conversation topic using his botanic classes.

“Not really. It wasn’t like this when I found it, though,” He stopped scanning the plant and showed his fingers to the noble once again as if he hadn’t seen the damage done before, sarcastically grinning after locking eyes with him. “So, what does that mean?”

“Well,” He licked his lips, not once taking his tender eyes off him. “I think it means you just swept destiny off its feet and chose your own love at first sight.” 

After he finished his sentence, they looked at each other for a few seconds, taking in their auras and presence. They both looked stunning, masks standing out their eyes, with exposed mouths and perfectly fitting outfits that made them take away each other's air unknowingly. 

Breaking the silence once again, he smiled at the sound of Jisung’s chuckle, “That’s a bummer because _clearly_ , this flower is dying. This can't really mean a good thing to them, I believe."

He didn’t know exactly what made him wheeze at that sentence. It was not exactly funny as it seemed, seeing the younger was talking about the love of his life dying, so he didn't expect the laughter to make its way through his lungs like it had super speed. It was just _something_ in the way he had said it, completely done with his own hypothetical incompetence, that obligated his body to respond that way.

So, it was only normal for him to not be able to contain the snort that came out of his nose when the joke was made. When he realized what he had done after the hurt on his belly stopped, he almost instantly covered his mouth and winded his eyes, apologizing right after. His mind told him that was not a prince's behavior. “You _didn’t_ hear that.”

Minho didn’t know, however, to Jisung that was music to his ears. He could listen to his giggles all day long if he were able to just because it sounded insanely pretty to him. “Aha! I made you snort, I win!”

“Stop, I’m already embarrassed. Is this what you wanted?” He played around with him, lightly punching his arm in return.

“Yes, In fact. It made me very happy.”

Out of nowhere, before they could even say something else, music started to play from the palace and it made its way to the garden, replacing the crickets sound and laughter that were there earlier. It was not noisy, seeing they were a little bit far from the instruments, but it was loud enough for them to listen to it comfortably without getting in the way of their voices.

Minho shivered a bit due to the cold when Jisung got up and looked down at him in the middle of the night. From the prince's point of view, his eyes matched the stars glow and that was one of the prettiest things in the world. “C’mon, dance with me, Hyung.” He holding his hand out with a smile on his face.

He shook his head at the sight, blinking a few times. “No?”

As a response coming from the younger one, he got a pout. “What? I wasn’t expecting you to refuse my incredible invitation like that.”

“Oh, in what other way were you expecting me to refuse? In Spanish? _No_.”

He furrowed his eyebrows, closing his arms in front of his body. “How do you even know Spanish? C’mon, Min-Hyung, It will be fun.”

The noble didn’t let the confused look out of his face whilst hearing the proposal. “I’m okay sitting.”

Jisung, not wanting to hear about it any longer, put his hands around Minho’s arms, successfully trying to get him up after a few tries. He whined a lot throughout the process, but as the thief finally did it, they were both looking at one another with the song playing in the background.

“I can’t do this for long, though. I’m a noble, Jisung-ah, I don’t know what people will think of this.” 

He nodded, understanding his point; cheeky smile plastered all over his face. “So, you agree?”

Minho smiled back, taking his hand and holding them for a while before smoothly nodding along to the song and ignoring any choreography he had learned whatsoever - knowing his dance partner would probably not know it all. They shared a few laughs with their informal failed attempts at following the steps, and as the song started to slow down, they came closer to one another.

Jisung could feel his body burning as if someone had set him on fire with the oldest touch. He felt his throat go instantly dry as he noticed their breathing seemed to synch, and their eyes silently decided to not leave each other throughout the development of their dancing. They felt comfortable as they let the music do all the talking for them, soothing their souls in the process.

“You told me you were here to see me, right?” The prince breathed out, closing his eyelids while he rested his chin on his shoulders.

“I don’t know the ‘oldest son of Lee’s’, do I?” He joked, mentioning the owner of the party as it said the invitation. “Yeah, Hyung, and the boys want to see you too. We also came to enjoy a bit of the music and the food with you.” He grinned, trying to soothe his previous lie a bit.

_There, he said it. Some of it._

Minho’s eyelids shot open as he took his chin out of the previous place and locked eyes with him again. _Food,_ He thought. _I can give them a bit of food._ “Thank you for coming, but look, Jisung-ah, if you want to you can take food from the-”

Before he could finish his sentence, the music stopped, and people’s chatter took place in the ballroom within seconds. At first, they were both confused, however, it took only a few minutes for the prince to recognize It was a sign the moment of his speech was getting closer.

“I can what?” The younger looked back at him, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

He didn’t know what to say, as he was still trying to find a way for him to give his speech and come back without any of them knowing he was the next in line. _He hadn’t even seen the rest of them yet, for merlin’s beard._ “Well, we will have to talk later, Ji.” He looked around, letting go of him and fixing his clothing. “I’m sorry but I think the Prince’s speech is about to begin and my mom would be pissed at me if she didn’t see me there.” 

_“The prince’s speech is about to begin?!_ ” Jisung asked rather desperately, eyes winded while he was adjusting his own appearance by messing with his hair a bit. _Of course, he was late._

“I think so, so I have to go.”

Minho expected to have to explain himself more than that, but the thief completely spaced out, shocked to see he was surely going to get killed by his brothers for not being there in time, so he didn’t really think about asking questions at the moment. 

I mean, he was doing _exactly_ what he had judged earlier, so feeling stupid didn’t even cover half of it. He felt like a hypocrite, like the King.

Their goodbyes were sloppy as they parted ways to different entries of the castle, not even noticing guards chatter on a different subject as they passed by. Most Knights looked nervous, however, neither of them seemed to have time to stop in their tracks and analyze the situation.

Minho ran to the ballroom, greeting more people as he made his way, completely thankful for not being completely late to the speech. He breathed out as set foot on the room and felt his father’s intense stare and his mother’s worried remarks getting thrown at him the second, he got in.

“Where were you, pumpkin? Do you have your speech ready?”

“I told him to get some air, mother, he looked a bit nervous,” Hyunjin explained, smiling at the sight of his older brother. He didn’t know why he had taken so long outside, but nevertheless, today was his day anyway and he was so proud of him. “But I’ve seen it and it is wonderful, you have nothing to worry about.”

He smiled at his brother’s support, nodding his head to him in complete silence as he did the same to him and fixed some of his rebellious hair strands. Hyunjin laughed as it definitely showed how cold the night was outside.

“And Felix?” The king asked, not much interested in the topic of the conversation.

He stopped midway his chuckle and sighed silently as he turned his body from his older brother to him. “He is upstairs, father. Last time I saw him, he was choosing another shirt to wear due to an accident in the great hall.”

“We can start without him then, I’m sure he won’t mind.”

-

“I’m here!” Jisung called out, making his way to the back of the ballroom, where Changbin let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and Chan turned to face him with not so welcoming expressions.

“Jisung, What the fuck!” 

“Calm down Changbin-Hyung,” He showed an awkward grin and put his thumbs up. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Before any of them could say anything, Chan raised his hand in an attempt to stop an enormous fight from happening right there. “We don’t have time for this. You,” He pointed to the youngest, “we will talk later. And you,” He looked back to his other brother, “Get your shit together.”

They both shared a look, knowing things would go down later as the oldest felt like shoving both on some dragon’s cave and going home by himself. He swore he could feel his hair falling out of stress, and if somebody asked him, he would assure them his genetics would be all over the room by now. “Now, I will go to make my scene. Get in there as your life depends on that, because, surprise, it does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was cute. Wonder what will happen next to them.  
> I hope you like it! Sorry about the short notes today, It's a bit late here where I live haha.  
> Please, do tell me what you thought of this chapter! I hope I did well enough <3  
> Night, everyone.


	9. Chapter IX: Running it is.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Minho's speech, it doesn't take long for things to go wrong and rebels to start to break into the castle. As panic fills the room, the prince has to find a way to save all of his family and get out of there alive. How can he do that, when half of them are upstairs?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my darlings!  
> Here we finally are, in the last chapter at the ball. Things get a little bit bloody and violent, so I advise you to read it cautiously.  
> I won't hold you for much longer. I'm sorry for taking so long, but I had to make this chapter perfect. And, you've got a big bonus on this, almost 7K words.  
> Giggles. I hope you like it.  
> Good reading, everyone.

“Hello, everyone.” Minho cleared his throat as he adjusted his collar.

He was nervous.

“I’m here to thank you all for coming since this is such a big day to me,” He tried to put on a smile, licking his lips. The way all eyes were on him made him want to _throw_ himself out of the last floor. “As I am growing older today, I acknowledge that changing always seems like a difficult thing. But, as the next King in line, I assure you my actions will always be for the sake of everyone. Of us, of my town, of my future children.”

To be honest, as soon as the words left his lips, his eyes wandered the whole room looking for him. Jisung. He didn’t know why he was so _scared_ of his reaction, his feelings, his _concerns_ since he was probably long gone, however, something inside of him screamed manifestations of fear. 

He decided to ignore it and keep his speech going. He had to.

After his little conversation with his family members, it didn’t take long for him to find himself in that situation, and in that meantime, he was told that his friends weren’t there any longer. Chefs from the kitchen had personally informed him about a group of three people who went out using the back door, a few seconds before he brought the room’s attention to him, so he guessed the boys didn’t want to deal with the royalty any longer.

Of course, it was understandable. He wasn’t mad, but he sighed at the thought of not even saying _goodbye –_ Or even a _hello_ to the rest of them _._

“I understand my father, our King, is extremely respected, and his accomplishments will never be forgotten.” The king nodded in his direction as his name was brought up with a smile on his face. His father loved to get praised. “However, I have to say I’m not trying to be like him – I’ll try to be even better. I’m my own person, with my thoughts and feelings, that will follow his steps to make this city a better place for all of us.” 

He decided not to look at him again, sure the look of approval that was once there probably had faded into a much more serious expression.

“So,” He continued, getting up from his chair and raising his glass of wine. “This is to us,” He rose the tone of his voice up, “To the city, to the King; and Lastly, to me!”

People cheered as they rose their cups, smiling and congratulating the prince as the music started to make itself more present. They seemed confident about the next-to-be King since all comments that could be heard were only messages of happiness and comfort. 

Of course, not everyone enjoyed the fact he had mentioned the town that much, and some disgusting expressions coming from the guests were there. But, in his eyes, he knew he could change their unlovable opinions someday, or he would die trying. He just needed time.

The second genuine smile of the night also made its way through his face as he stared at his future right in front of his face. _His people._

He looked back to his mother, who nodded to his way, and shared a soft atmosphere with her. Hyunjin got up and clapped, smiling from ear to ear, and the King only blinked and drank his wine in response. Although his cousins and Felix were nowhere to be seen, he decided to look for them after hugging his younger brother and whispering words of excitement.

“Did I do well?” He asked, holding Hyunjin’s hands. 

“I’m so proud of you!” He looked tenderly to him, squeezing his hand back as he answered his question. “You, my brother, will be an excellent King someday.”

Before they could say anything else, the rest of the family rose from their seats, all a bit distant from each other. Both mother and father planned to say a few words to the oldest of the princes, but before they made their way to their sons, a flaming arrow passed through the opened window and started to burn their cushions.

Fire was everywhere above them.

Minho barely had time to react. As Hyunjin looked horrified at the flames that were spreading quickly through the fabric, he grabbed tightly to his wrist and pulled him to his arms, trying to get his brother away from the flames, and squatted beside the platform, obligating him to follow his actions.

The nobles got alarmed quickly, gagging whilst grabbing their things and fixing their masks as they headed towards the gate when another arrow made its way to the big chandelier in the middle of the room, which, in a few seconds, was found on the floor and its remains spread glass everywhere.

The king and queen immediately shouted barely understandable words to the guards, who were on the other side of the platform, that were almost blocked by all the panic in the room. As the rebels tried to come in by pushing their weight outside, the gate of the castle started to shake and resonate sound of breaking in, and that echoes alone made the nobles freak out worse than before.

Never in his life, Minho had felt such fear because of a _sound_ before.

He knew his thoughts were fighting against each other on what to do, but he could only think of one thing.

His Family.

“Hyunjin, _Focus_!” He shouted to the mortified form on his arms, feeling his heartbeat through his touch. “I need you with me or this won’t work.”

“But the Ch-Chandelier–” He coughed as he felt smoke burning his lungs and interrupt his stuttering, and his hands were pointing to the place it was once before.“I’m _scared_.”

“I _know_ you are, okay? I am too.” He let out, glancing at the huge door and its unstoppable noise as he covered his nose from the fire. “But the others need us. Felix, Jeongin, and Seungmin _need_ us right now. And…” He snapped his hands, bringing his attention to him. “I need you.”

Words couldn’t be heard, but he knew he had brought his brother’s focus back when he carefully nodded to him while tears rolled down his cheek and wet his hands. That's when Minho's heart broke for the first time of the night.

“Okay.” He wiped the liquid from his face, thinking quickly as the screams wouldn’t leave his ears, “I need you to take care of mom. I will meet you both outside once I’m out. _Don’t_ be recognized and trust no one other than mom, you hear me? There is a hidden path I told you about through the walls, use it and get the _fuck_ out of here.”

“Don’t leave me here alone, p-please, Minho-Hyung. _Please_.”

“Jinnie,” He looked fondly to him, feeling his heartbreak with his stutter. “I _have_ to find our brother, he still upstairs. I believe our cousins are with him too. Do you understand why I need to go?”

It took him a while to hear an answer. “Yes.”

“The more I stay here, the more in the danger they are too. I believe you are smart and mature enough to get out of here on your own. And they are just kids, _Please_ , you know I love you.” He hugged him with all strength he had on his body. “And I forever will. I will find you, Okay? I will find my home because you are it.”

He hugged him tightly back, feeling more tears coming his way. “O-Okay. Bring them safe.”

His expression immediately went serious, as his mind kept racing, “And _don’t_ take off your mask, okay? For nothing in this world. Keep it until you are safe, got it?”

“Alright, Hyung” Hyunjin smiled sadly halfway through a hiccup. “Hey...” His grin broke as the words rolled off his tongue, “You can’t die, okay? You and the boys are everything I have. You _can’t_ die.” 

His pupils were already dilated out of fear when he nodded to his statement, getting up quickly. He bowed his head to his brother, who seemed to be in better shape than before , and he reluctantly distanced himself to start acknowledging his surroundings.

He tried to look back to him when he was distant enough, and through a breach of all the people that were running around, he could see they weren’t there any longer. He tried to find a guard to accompany him, but since Yeonjun wasn’t around, he decided to get himself there without any help. Who knows who could be behind the guard’s uniform?

 _They will be fine_ , He told himself. _Hyunjin will be fine._

He pushed through the panic almost in supersonic speed, not letting his body give up on him throughout his way as he adjusted his mask and tried not to call much attention.

He noticed some rebels had already entered the castle as he saw some nobles’ bodies all around the floor, stains of blood, and smell of urine taking over the place as he passed through.

The scene was disgusting.

He was sweating and his hands were shaking, eyes trying not to look at them too much since it was obvious he didn’t have time to mourn them. Some he knew, others he had been introduced earlier that night, but most had nothing to do with him, his birthday, nor the King’s business.

He thought it was his fault.

As he faced the stairs and pushed his feelings aside, each step he took felt heavy as he analyzed the enormous embrasure in front of him. The opening in a battlement between the two raised solid portions followed the whole extension of the staircase, and it had no glass at all to indicate someone’s presence or attempt in breaking in. The place was silent since the party wasn’t on the second floor, and he lamented at the thought of part of his family alone up here, without any knowledge whatsoever over the current situation.

He carefully walked on his tiptoes, refraining from making any noise whatsoever as his eyes didn’t leave the enormous gap in the stones. He glanced behind him, seeing no one, and decided to push his back soundlessly to the colossal column so he wouldn’t get attacked unknowingly. 

As he was getting closer to the second floor, he felt the need to check for any breathing form and gently put one of his eyes out to see if he was right to do so.

And there a rebel was.

He bit his lip, putting his head back behind the column quickly as the sound of the girl’s knife getting sharped echoed on his mind. “I’m checking the second floor! Go into the king’s office and try to find his royal ass!” He heard the girl shouting, assuming she was not alone.

_That was not good._

He waited a few seconds for her to distance herself from where he was, towards the long corridor that would take her to his chambers when he slowly breathed in and held his breath so he could continue his steps.

When one of his feet noisily touched the last marble, he cursed himself mentally before he noticed the girl had stopped on her tracks, huffing as her figure went back to his way., now properly looking at him. “Wow, I almost didn’t notice you were there at all. Good thing your _richy_ shoes don’t like you as well.”

“Please, let me go. I am no one to you.” He showed his hands without taking his eyes off her.

She giggled as she got closer to him, playing with her blade in hands. It all seemed amusing to her. “You are funny, my _dear_ prince. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you because of a stupid mask? I’ve been watching you all night.”

He gulped down. “I’ve met a few people that didn’t.”

“Well, their goal wasn’t taking down you _royals_ , was it?”

“I believe that’s debatable.”

He tried putting some distance as he walked backward on the staircase, but as soon as he felt his calf hit the border of the embrasure, he immediately took a step forward.

_Okay, what do I do now?_

His mind was racing against the clock as he thought of the different scenarios his next moves would cause. There were only two options to consider, in the end. He could fight her and possibly get injured in the process. Surely, he had the muscle power to take her in a fair fight, but that wasn’t the case. After all, girl or not, she had a knife and possibly more experience in hand-to-hand combat than him. He didn’t like the outcome of that idea at all. Or, he could try to put as much distance between them as possible and run. Not very dignified, but he had more troublesome concerns at that moment other than his dignity.

_Running it is._

If he could somehow go around her, _maybe_ , he could survive this.

He glanced at the end of the corridor, trying to clear a path on head. He had the advantage of knowing the castle and losing her shouldn’t be too difficult. He clenched his jaw as he sprinted towards her, quickly grabbing her shoulder as he tried to shove her to the side. Luck clearly wasn’t on his side, though. As she stumbled to her fall she firmly clenched her hand around his arm and fast as lightning thrusted her blade on the inside of his thighs.

The sharp pain gave him a pause. Whiteness filling his vision as the burning feeling of the wound unfocused his thoughts. Before he knew it, he was being pulled down by the same iron grasp on his arm and the force of the collision was enough to kick the air out of his lungs. The taste of metal filled his mouth, either from his tongue or cheeks, he was too busy to tell, and his arm was positively throbbing under his body, for it had taken the worst of the fall.

He didn’t know whether to focus on that or the pulsating wound on his leg, so he put pressure on his elbow, trying to get up again. The pull-on his muscles never hurt so much and he tried not to close his eyes, knowing that he had to stay clear-headed. He needed to act fast. He could see the nasty gash through the torn fabric, blood gushing out of it, and irreparably staining his trousers. However, he couldn’t afford to think about it now. He had to move.

Before he could convince his body to act as he wanted, the girl was already crawling in his direction, shoving him back at the floor with unnecessary force and straddling his thighs, successfully trapping his arms and rendering him unable to move. Her eyebrows came down together while she glared at him, narrowing the corner of her lips in a snarl. “You son of bitch!” She said through gritted teeth, “Did you really think you could _push_ me and get away with it?”

Bony fingers tightly grabbed his jaw and the unrelenting fire burning in her eyes of pure hate was the last thing he saw as white filled his sight once more and pain exploded in the back of his head. He could feel tears threatening to spill amidst the pain and confusion and his brain supplied, more as an afterthought, that his head had just been slammed on the floor.

“Well, you couldn’t be more wrong.” She spoke viciously and he could tell she was just about ready to smash his head once more when the sound of quick footsteps reached his ears.

“ _Hey_! What the fuck do you think you are doing, huh?” Someone who came out of nowhere shouted, coming back from one of the many hallways of the second floor. Minho guessed he was one of the rebels, too. “He is not a target anymore, you fucker!”

She cautiously got up and took a step back, directing her attention towards her teammate as Minho held his head for a moment before then tried to stop the bleeding on his leg by putting pressure on his wounds with his other hand. So much was happening at the same time, he was overflowing with feelings and thoughts.

He knew his injury might get dirty as he touched it, and an infection was most likely to happen if he didn’t clean that up, but honestly, his heavy breathing and slight dizziness stopped him from caring. Or he would get an infection, or he could bleed and die. Both were _great_ outcomes.

He could sense the silver on his mouth again as he staggered back on his position, trying hard to keep himself up on his feet. Everything hurt from inside out, and he tried to take deep breaths as he could feel his muscles ache in pure pain.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” She shouted back, clearly bothered.

“Jennie, step away from the next king, or the blood on the floor will be yours.” He threatened her, tone harsh and serious when he looked dead in her eyes.

The girl huffed as she threw her knife into her pockets, looking back at Minho in complete disgust. She narrowed her eyes, licking her bottom lip as she got up. It was clear to him that she wanted the fight to keep going. “You are lucky you have a way with words, my _prince_. Disappoint us after this and you are _dead_.”

He didn’t have time to think about her statement nor answer it, seeing it took only seconds for both of the rebels to disappear onto the staircase, probably going to the next floor as he watched them vanish.

He felt tired, but he had to take this opportunity and escape while he had time.

Running to a different hallway from where he came, Minho tried his best to push the fatigue and stress away as he quietly passed through different doors of the floor. The voices on his head wouldn’t stop shouting, but he didn’t have time to listen to them as his leg bled to the point his pants were soaking wet. Some of his blood even became part of the scenery, dripping onto the floor and staining his carpet.

When he got to the last door near another embrasure, he pushed it gently, analyzing the room.

It was Felix’s, but nobody was there.

He gulped down as the poor light from the moon made itself present between the curtains and guided his steps onto the big bedroom, things destroyed as he gazed at it.

His eyes couldn’t stop on only one object, as several were in a wrecked condition. The bed was definitely unmade, there were sheets spread all around the room, some of his brother’s clothes seemed to get torn to shreds and most of his personal belongings were everywhere.

The more he wandered the room, the more unsafe he felt. As he set foot in the middle of the place, he spotted a shadow passing behind him, and the sound of them struggling alarmed him of their position. His body worked faster than his mind, so he promptly turned around and brought his hands on what he thought was the rebel’s throat. He tried to push the unknown body to the wall, putting all strength he could into defending himself.

It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“H-Hyung?!” Seungmin tried to say, letting go from the piece of glass he had in hands so he could bright his fingers to his neck, trying to breathe again.

“Minnie?!” Minho let him go, immediately going back to hold his wounded leg again.

Lights went on thanks to Jeongin, who seemed to be as happily shocked as his brother. “Minho-Hyung!” 

“Minho-Hyung is here?!” A voice whispered from the closet.

“Yes, Felix, get out of there!” Seungmin breathed out, putting his hands on his knees. “Hyung, you almost scared the crap out of me.”

Felix cautiously opened the wardrobe’s door, putting his head out to check if it was indeed safe. As soon as his eyes met Minho’s though, he jumped from the closet and ran to his figure, hugging him. “You are okay!” He felt tears already forming in his eyes. “Hyung, I am so scared. I thought you were- you were _dead_.”

“Lix, I love you, but my leg-”

“For Merlin’s beard!” He stepped away from his brother, quickly letting him go when the soft words left his lips. “What happened?” His eyebrows furrowed as he went back close to him to hold his upper arm, studying the wound. 

“Hyung, you need to clean this up!” Jeongin whispered, turning towards the bathroom’s suite. He picked up a piece of fabric from the drawers right before wetting it on the sink with some kind of medicine Felix had on his drawers. He used a lot of those at the beginning of his physicals training, so that came in hand.

Minho’s breathing tried to normalize while he put his hands on the wound again, Felix forcing him to sit down. “We don’t have the time; we need to get out of here.”

“He is kind of right, Jeongin.”

The youngest ignored both of his Hyungs, hitting Minho’s hand out of his leg and putting pressure on the cut with the wet cloth. He gasped at the stinging sensation without interrupting Jeongin’s concentration. “I know he is right Minnie-Hyung,” He retorted, “but soon enough he will be dead if he continues to bleed like this.”

Felix bit his nails as he looked at him, completely at a loss of words. No one in the room knew more than him the amount of guilt he felt for not being able to protect him from something like this.

“Felix,” Minho called, “I will be okay. It’s just a scratch.”

It was obvious he was lying. It’s not like it was going to kill him, but the cut was deep enough to slow them down and make him bleed to the point the piece of cloth soaked red. Although they were concerned he was losing too much blood, for the sake of their sanities, they chose to believe his words. _He will be okay._

If you stopped to analyze them all, you would be shocked at the huge difference between their states of mind.

Felix wasn’t as worried before, but as soon as he saw Minho’s wounds, it finally hit him how _real_ that was. It wasn’t training, nor a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from, that right in front of him was the painful _reality_.

Seungmin tried to keep his cool, but if you knew him enough, you could see how tired and frightened he was. Even though he was the one who planned their hiding spots and calmed all of them down, Seungmin was shaken to his _bones_.

Jeongin, however, after screaming a bit at the beginning of the process, it was surprising to see the youngest of them all maintaining the composure his brother had passed to him minutes after he spoke. Of course, he was just scared as the rest of them, but it was obvious he was more attentive to details at that point. _Someone_ had to be.

Minho, hurt and exhausted, once again let the adrenaline take over his body so it wouldn’t shut down. Although it all ached and screamed for a rest, he wouldn't let it happen until he had brought them to safety, out of this demoniac nest.

“W-What about Hyunjin? Is he okay?” Felix asked as he watched Jeongin taking brief care of his brother wound, doing all he could quickly so they could finally escape.

“He was on the first floor, masked, with mother. I told them to run so I could find you all.” He explained, not daring to look them in the eye. He chose not to think too much about his other brother, for the time being, seeing his destiny was completely unknown to him and that would only fog his thoughts away from his goal here. "I can only hope he is okay."

Felix wasn’t feeling as good as before. He didn’t let it show through his face, but his eyes got dark as he felt his stomach twist and stared at the windows for a few seconds. The corner of his eyes burned to the thought of _Hyunjin's_ dead form on his arms, seeing his soft skin go pale and his black orbs lose its sparkle. Then, he tried his best to push those thoughts away and decided to concentrate on the present, the _real_. They were still stuck in a castle, filled with people who wanted their heads, and what his mind was doing was self-destructive and _not_ helpful. Of course, Hyunjin was still alive. _He had to be._

After he was patched up, Minho uncomfortably rose from his seat and carefully instructed them out of the room in complete silence, explaining briefly the plan in between whispers. He made them wear all of his brother’s hooded cloaks so they wouldn’t call attention and decided he had to keep moving, or the hormone that was taking the lead would just stop working and he would pass out in the middle of their escape.

As they moved around the castle like ghosts, they went towards the King’s office, on the other hallway. It was all part of his plan.

When he was younger, all princes had to take classes about the castle structure and its secret ways out. Even though his brothers didn’t pay much attention, he, as the older one, prevented himself from distraction and carefully listened about every single hideaway there was, just in case. Minho knew exactly where everything was in that palace, so he was sure his Father’s room was the nearest way out of there.

Now onto the next big corridor filled with more of their broken belongings, Minho started to hear a few soft whimpers through the walls. He stopped in his tracks, adrenaline letting him continue walking, and brought his hand up so the others would stop walking as well. Right after, he looked back at them and put his index finger in front of his mouth. 

They attentively held their breaths, searching for the sound as well.

He looked around before he stared at the door across the hall, and he immediately recognized it to be the entry that leads to a small room overflowing with things the royal family barely used. He was sure if someone were there, they wouldn’t last much longer because of the oxygen that minuscule space lacked, and that would lead them to either a panic attack or death by asphyxiation.

Neither was a good choice.

Getting closer to the wooden material after asking to go alone, Minho put his ear over the door as he heard more clearly the small crying. He noticed the handle to be broken before even considering breaking in, but as he thought about his leg condition, he noticed an almost unrecognizable sound of _metal_ hitting the floor.

That’s when it really hit him.

_Crying? Probably not a rebel. Why would a rebel be stuck here without anyone around?_

But the Metal was what it really gave it away. A _guard_ was inside.

He signed for Felix to help him, (seeing he was an archer; therefore, his arms were strong), and as the boy got closer, he instructed him to push the door open with his arm. With a loud _bum,_ he squeezed his eyes into the dark creak, trying to identify the person.

Maybe making that much noise wasn’t a good option, but certainly didn’t matter. Another living person was there as well, and he needed to rescue them.

“Choi Yeonjun?” He asked in a whisper, after spotting his blonde hair.

“Your Majesty?!” Yeonjun quickly wiped his tears, putting on his serious face as he got up the floor. 

He got out of the room, thanking God for the fresh air that took over his lungs. After recomposing himself, he put his arms tightly to the side and bowed his head to Minho, embarrassed enough. “I’m sorry you had to see this, your majesty. And my sincere apologies for not being able to protect you earlier. I understand it’s my job and I…” He spotted his wounded leg, quickly changing his eyes directions. “I failed at it.”

“I’ll be okay.” He assured, “How’d end up here, though?” 

“When I heard about the rebel's attempt in breaking in, I was downstairs, but before I could reach you, my team and I got knocked out. I woke up here with a few drops of blood in my head, and I wasn’t able to get out.”

“Do you feel okay?” Jeongin joined the conversation, looking around before murmuring.

“To be honest, I am more worried about one of your other guards, your majesty. He is my… well, that doesn’t matter.” He sighed, visibly on the verge of tears. “I was the one who made Soobin want to become a guard, so if he is in the middle of this mess, it’s my fault. I d-don’t even know if he is a-alive...”

“Hey” Minho softly put a hand on his shoulder, feeling the coldness of the metal that covered his skin. “It is not your fault, okay? What happened today wasn’t on you. If I get to sleep tonight, I will sleep praying for him to be alright.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He cleaned his throat. “Minho-Hyung.”

“I mean, Minho-Hyung.”

They shared sad smiles before their attention changed its course to the deep whisper that came out of Felix. “Now, let’s get out of here, shall we?” He announced, pointing to the opened door to the King’s office.

Minho nodded before Yeonjun took the position in front of him and lead them calmly to their safe spot. The guard investigated the area outside, noticing the door had been practically destroyed and most of the King’s things were splattered all around the floor, and he got a broken piece of wood to serve as their weapon.

As soon as he thought it was okay, he was the first to enter the room.

After analyzing all its corners, he decided to let the others in. Nobody said anything, but most of them briefly thought about how, even though he was only Minho’s guard, he was extremely vigilant as he worked his heart out for all their safety and that made them like him a little bit more. They were in the middle of a crisis, where he could literally take an opportunity to run and hide since most of the guards were unavailable or dead, but he chose to be there.

After today, they would have another layer of connection that was unbeatable. 

Making sure their surroundings were safe as well, Yeonjun peeked at the hallway once again, not noticing a single presence. Thereafter, he quickly closed the way out and put his weight on it, facing the room. “My princes, please, find the safe route fast. I don’t know how much longer we will be alone.”

They silently divided to conquer, each taking one corner of the place as their own, trying to look through it and hopefully finding the hideaway they needed so _badly_. They put their hands all over the walls and objects, trying their hardest to find a lever or anything of sorts.

Time was running out as they listened to a few footsteps echoing from the floor. It wasn’t close to them, thankfully, but it was still noticeable enough for them to know they shouldn’t expect to be safe in a few minutes.

None of them spoke out loud, but it was a common understanding they should hurry whatever they were doing.

Minho felt his pulse getting faster and his hands getting shakier as he anxiously pulled his father’s books from the shelf, some almost falling because of the uneasiness that took over his fingers, and his breathing even stopped for a moment as none seemed to _work._

_Think, Minho. What’s the name of the book that will get us out of here?_

It took a few seconds for an invisible lightbulb to draw itself over his head, and he quickly opened his eyes as the name hit him as the rebels would.

His father’s favorite book, _The Prince._

In a matter of seconds, the shelf unattached itself from the wall and opened it to show a stone staircase that would lead them to a sewer system underneath the castle.

“You did it!” Felix let out rather loudly, quickly putting a hand over his mouth.

The footsteps got noisier as more people seemed to gather, probably done with all the killing on the first floor, and their destruction could be heard from miles away.

“Let’s go!” The oldest kept the shelf opened, signing for them to pass through it. All of them didn’t even stop to think as their legs did all the work, and one by one, they were already making their way out of the castle.

Yeonjun didn’t seem to move, though.

“What the fuck are you doing, _huh_? You think I will leave you here?” Minho spat his words angrily, ready to beat him up. _Was he actually considering staying behind for them?_

“I told you my loyalty was yours, my prince. If that’s what it takes for you to get out of here safely, then, that’s what I am doing.”

“You are going to _fucking_ die!” It was impossible to keep whispering like that in this situation.

“But you are not. _Go_ , they are getting closer.”

Minho didn’t think twice. “I’m not leaving any of you behind.” 

He left the shelf opened, praying for it to hold it there for a few seconds, and sprinted towards his father’s stuff, looking for anything that would help the keep the door unreachable. Within seconds of looking, he was able to find a rope his dad used on his hunts, and quickly pushed Yeonjun out of the way as he tied one side of it tightly to the door handle.

“Majesty, I mean this with respect, what the actual fuck? I told you to _go_!”

After successfully tying the other side to the hanging beam above the door, which was part of the room’s decoration, he took Yeonjun’s wrist in his hands as he stared at his eyes. “If anyone tries to force the door open, the rope will tighten, and it won’t work. I’m _not_ leaving you behind.”

He put his fingers in the tiny gap between the shelf and the wall, after running seconds before it was closed, and pushed the guard onto the stairs, barging in quickly afterward. Yeonjun almost lost his balance, but when he regained mobility, Minho was already close to him and the bookshelf had sealed their path. No one would come in now.

 _See, you didn’t have to die for that._ His eyes told him while he took the lead of the stairs.

Both were going down step by step, not a word daring to come out when they heard a few complaints and blasts coming from the room they were in. It didn’t take many brain cells for them to figure out that the rebels were struggling to break in, but they didn’t stay much longer after that.

With their steps being the only sound they could hear; their getaway was rather quiet and brisk as both knew the rebels would find them at some point if they even considered slowing down. The surrounding was dark, but nothing stopped them from getting to the finish line.

They put their feet on the dirty water, wetting part of their clothes after the stairs were done, and they breathed out as both realized they had finally got to the sewer system. They met the others there, all extremely shaken up as they waited for them to show up, and all 5 walked wordlessly to the end of the duct.

The odor of the liquid mixed with the scent of their blood, sweat, and tears as they could feel the fatigue hit their bodies and their breathing to normalize again. Even though it wasn’t a short walk, it was, actually, the first feeling of actual safety since the beginning of the night.

All looked tired. The hurt on their eyes, either from the crying or because of the lack of blinking, added to the dust and dirt that covered their skin made them simulate a war appearance. Minho’s injury was painful and still bleeding a little, but he kept quiet as he started to limp his way out of the sewer system.

As the light of the night could be seen with a few minutes of moving, all expressions softened to the vision of their sanity _. The outside of the castle._

They made their way through the last obstacles, the metal bars, and they finally found themselves stepping on land, feeling the coldness of the night hitting their faces.

“We are out!” Felix cheered, smiling at the smell of fresh grass hitting his nose. 

“We have to find a safe place to stay for a few days for all 5 of us. Maybe by the woods or –”

“No, that’s not happening.” Minho cut Seungmin off, totally against the idea. “Felix and I won’t be with you any longer. I can’t risk all your lives because of me, and we are both the targets as the royal family.”

“I can’t risk your lives either.” His brother reluctantly agreed as his eyes saddened. “They could still be out there, you know?”

Jeongin got closer to Minho, looking at him as he pouted. “But Hyung, what do you mean? We have to stick together.” 

Don’t get me wrong, of course, he wanted to stay with his family. However, knowing they were looking for _him,_ the scenery of “sticking together” was too dangerous to put them through that, and Minho knew.

He didn’t dare to look back. His mind was already made, and no one could change it. “I can’t lose you both, okay? Who knows how many lives I have lost today on that castle? They all _died_ because of me; I’m not letting that happened to you too.”

Seungmin furrowed his brows, closing his arms in response. “It’s not your fault, Hyung. You are not to blame here.”

“Of course, I am!” He painfully giggled, mocking his cousin's attempt at soothing things. “I should have predicted this. This was _my_ birthday, and all those people were there because of _me_ and my fucking royal ass!”

Seungmin furrowed his eyebrows deeper as the tone of his voice got a bit harsher. “So, are your _bloody_ royal balls also made of crystal?!” He breathed in, trying to compose himself as he felt his eyes burn. “I’m sorry Hyung, but I don’t see how this was ever predictable in the first place.”

Minho held back his tears as he tried to let out his frustration through his breath. This night was too much for him. “I see your point, Minnie, but you still have to go with Yeonjun. I trust him, so he will take care of you while I’m gone. Both of you, okay?” He softly looked back at Jeongin, putting his hand on his shoulder. “We are out of the castle now, but it’s not completely safe. Exchange your luxuries with a Smith and that might be able to feed you for a while.”

They both nodded, biting their lips and scratching their eyes, knowing nothing would change his mind. The youngest took his hand and pulled him into a tight hug. “You did it, you brought us here. _Thank you_ , Hyung.”

His other cousin tried to hold back his need for affection for a few seconds before his body gave in and he broke out in tears, joining the hug. “I don’t know what would have happened without your guidance. I love you so much, Hyung.”

Felix couldn’t help himself and he also made it into the physical affection, sniffing as he realized what had happened with them today.

“I love you all, you are my family, okay?” He whispered on their ears as he squeezed his eyes shut, letting the hug last for a while more. He didn’t know when he would see them again. He opened his orbits quickly after a few minutes, staring at his guard dead-serious on the eye. “I’m putting all my trust in you right now, Choi Yeonjun. Take good care of them and keep them safe until I find you, do you _understand_?”

Yeonjun bowed his head, keeping a straight face. “Don’t worry, my prince. I know a merchant called Choi Beomgyu, who lives far from the city, and I guarantee you he can get us a safe place to sleep and eat. He was the one who introduced me to Choi Soobin.”

His eyes immediately went soft. “I hope you find him, okay? I know that look you gave me earlier. I’m not your prince, he is.”

“Thank you, my majesty.” He nodded, smiling sadly as he held back his tears. “I hope I find him, too”

“Now, go. We will find you; you have my word.”

As the younger ones said their goodbyes, Yeonjun bowed his head one last time before he took the lead and lighted up a piece of wood. He advised them to put on their hoods, and as they parted ways from the two princes, they promised each other to take care and stay hidden.

Minho picked up his own torch made out of the thing’s nature gave them, and Felix put his free arm around his neck, holding part of his weight as they whispered words of comfort and both made their way through the dark, hoping things would be okay for them – Even though they had nowhere to go.

Or so, Felix thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, how are we? how do we feel?  
> I have to say this was a lot. I'm sorry, but many things happened today and I had to write it all.  
> I'm so sad about Minho, my poor baby. And they have to part ways, this is just heartbreaking. Y'all didn't trust my baby Yeonjun, huh?  
> At least we've got 3RACHA, though. Wonder what will happen next. xD  
> Have a great day! I'm sorry again for missing the deadline this week.  
> See you on the next update <3

**Author's Note:**

> I feel so bad for Minho right now. He doesn't know what's going to happen next...  
> Anyways, I hope you like it. I'm feeling a bit insecure about it, but that's okay.  
> You can comment on this... thing I'm doing. I don't mind.  
> Night, everyone. <3


End file.
